The Celestial Core
by BrixyWB
Summary: As Fairy Tail settles back into its old ways after the year split, all the members are returning to their normal, boisterous, destructive selves. That is everyone except Lucy. As she contemplates her loss of Aquarius she finds herself questioning her actions as not only a member of Team Natsu and Fairy Tail, but also as a mage entirely.
1. Chapter 1

_Here goes my second fanfiction! I hope you all enjoy it. I have already written several chapters ahead, so I will try to post rather quickly. Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Summary**

As Fairy Tail settles back into its old ways after the year split, all the members are returning to their normal, boisterous, destructive selves. That is everyone except Lucy. As she contemplates her loss of Aquarius she finds herself questioning her actions as not only a member of Team Natsu and Fairy Tail, but also as a mage entirely.

**Chapter 1**

The guild doors slam open drawing zero attention from the rambunctious group. The blonde celestial mage, normally cheery, stomps her way to the bar.

"Want your normal?" Mira curiously asks.

Lucy shakes her head, "No make it strong… and cheap." She scowls down at the bar. Mira nods in understanding.

"Lucy, we can just…" a pink haired mage coming up behind her says.

She cuts him off with a glare that could rival Erza's. Natsu immediately stops causing Gray to bump into him.

"Watch it Flame Brain!" Gray shouts at him.

"What'd you call me Ice Princess?" Natsu fires back. They start to brawl in the center of the guild ignoring the anger radiating off of Lucy. She smacks her head against the bar hard.

Mira winces and hands her a drink. She mumbles something resembling a thank you into the bar sits up throwing the whole glass down at once. She motions for another one to which Mira quickly obliges not wanting to be caught in this girl's wrath. Lucy was always happy and very rarely annoyed. Mira had never seen her truly angry, and when the cheerful ones are angry it's best to stay clear.

After downing her second drink in a gulp, she has drawn the attention of the resident alcoholic. "What's botherin' ya Lucy?" Cana asked her.

"Stupid dragon slayer, stupid ice stripper, stupid flying cat…" Lucy mutters to herself. Mira and Cana look at each other at a loss as Mira pours her another drink.

"We're not slayers, Lucy, you're gonna have to speak up…" Cana hesitantly prods.

"And thank Mavis for that! Otherwise, I'd have nowhere to drink because you woulda prolly destroyed the bar by now!" Lucy shouts back at the two then slumps into her next drink.

They both nod in understanding. Team Natsu was known for two things. One, being the strongest team Fairy Tail put out, and two, being the most destructive team. Both were truly a significant feat as the guild was filled with both powerful and extremely destructive mages.

"Where was Erza?" Mira asks.

Lucy groans, "Got a letter from…" Mira and Cana both nod understanding she meant Jellal, but everyone kept it on the down low. "Though, she might have made the whole thing worse! Sometimes she can be just as bad as those two!"

"So, what's got ya bothered? This isn't exactly new?" Cana asks. She gets that it was annoying, but they had come back many times like this and the blonde was never this irate.

"My rent is due in three days! And thanks to these idiots I can't afford it! On top of that, if I'm late again, I'll get kicked out!" Lucy whines.

"How much are you short?" Mira asked.

"5,000 Jewel," she sighs laying her head back down on the counter. It wasn't an absurd amount, but Mira knew she should have had more than enough from the mission they came back from. They must have barely gotten any of the reward.

"Why don't you just go solo?" Evergreen who had wandered up in the middle of the conversation asked. She was going to hand Mira the job for her team, but was both humored and annoyed at Team Natsu's antics.

"Oh, I've tried!" Lucy says turning to Evergreen. "If I go anywhere near that request board, those two are all over me."

Evergreen thinks to herself then marches off to one side of the guild. The three girls just shrug thinking she was over Lucy's issue. Much to their surprise, they hear Evergreen's thwap from her fan. They all turn to see she had hit Elfman across the back of the head.

"Here you are, bragging about how much of a man you are yet you have yet to win one guild brawl!" Evergreen accuses Elfman.

"I'll show you how a real man fights!" Elfman shouts then dives into the solo battle between Gray and Natsu bringing several others with him.

Evergreen marches back over to the gawking ladies at the bar, "Don't sit there and gawk at me, although I know I'm gorgeous," she adds with a wink. When she's closer she lowers her voice, "Now's your chance." She nods her head towards the request board.

Lucy shakes herself out of her stunned reverie and cracks a small devious smile. She bolts to the board grabs a day long mission and slaps it on the counter for Mira to approve. She quickly jots it down in the book, and Lucy turns to head out of the guild. She freezes realizing she might catch their attention if she went out the front door. She turns to the side door smiling in gratitude to Evergreen, "Thanks Ever! I owe you one!"

Evergreen despite her self smiles, but covers by saying, "Only the Ranjishu can call me that!"

Lucy half turns and smirks at her giving her a small wink. She raises her hand in a 'Goodbye,' but is shocked when she runs into a sturdy, muscled chest.

"Oh," she blinks up at the blonde haired mage in surprise. "Sorry Laxus didn't see you there." Freed look affronted that someone would run into Laxus, but Bixlow just chuckled at the scene.

"Yeah, because he's so easy to miss," Bixlow laughs. 'Miss, miss, miss,' his totems chant.

Laxus casts him an annoyed glance, but peers down at the celestial mages who had cast a worried glance back at the rumble in the center of the guild. "No problem, where ya headed so quickly?"

"Gotta mission, _solo_, gotta go, bye," she was inarticulate as she kept glancing towards the center of the guild hall. At the end, she darts past them all and out a side door.

Laxus shrugs at her peculiar behavior and raises an eyebrow at a beaming Evergreen.

"Oh no," Ever says raising her hands, "You want the story, get it from her." She gets her job paper stamped and the four of them head out of the guild hall on a mission of their own.

A day later, Lucy is walking back along the canal with Plue. She was absolutely thrilled. She handled the mission on her own, and it was a breeze. Best of all, she got to keep the entire reward. Not only could she pay her rent in time, but she actually had enough to restock her fridge for the rest of the month! Well, until Happy and Natsu raided it again.

She pushed her payment through the landlady's mail slot, and she hummed to herself as she went through a relaxing routine of a bath, hot tea, and working on her novel. She fell asleep without a care in the world.

The next day at the guild she was surprised to hear that Natsu and Gray had been dragged away by Erza. She had come back looking for all of them to help assist Jellal. Mira explained how peeved they were that she had left on a mission without telling them, but Erza made them get over it and drug them out of the guild hall. She said they would be gone for at least a week.

There was a split second where Lucy was sad to be left behind, but the moment was so fleeting that she wasn't sure if it was even there. She was excited to get to spend more time alone. She decided to have a casual breakfast chatting it up with Mira, Cana, and Levy. Levy and Lucy decided to take a small mission to just spend time together and make some easy money. They were gone for most of the day, but they had a blast getting to catch up and making some money was just a bonus. The jewel wasn't high, but she quickly realized that it could add up quick kind of like when Natsu and her watched Asuka for the day. They agreed to start taking more of these in the future.

At the end of the day, she decided to spend the rest of the week training with her spirits. She had discussed it with Loke and Capricorn in the past, but Team Natsu always wanted to join and although they did try to help they were just a burden. She told Mira not to expect her for the rest of the week.

The next morning she headed out to a clearing just outside of Magnolia. It was secluded enough to train, but not too far away. Her mornings were spent sparring with Loke and learning how to control her fleuve d'étoiles with Virgo. The afternoons she spent working on her star dress with her various spirits. She would conclude the day by working on holding open multiple gates and emptying out her magic container. She wanted to increase its size, so she could hold more than two gates open without almost fainting like she did with Aquarius… She shook her head. She couldn't let that sting bring her down, but even so she rubbed her hand across the broken key as she fell asleep her final thought being to her lost friend, "I'll become so strong, I can summon you without a key…" She knew it was silly, but the thought gave her hope.

Each day for the next week was spent like this. She was always exhausted falling into her sleeping bag each night dreaming of her reunion with Aquarius. While she only spent a week, her sparring had improved dramatically. She was excited to be able to fight alongside her spirits more, and they were encouraging her all the same. She was also working on opening more gates at a time. So far, two golds was still pretty strenuous, but she had managed to pull out Plue on the last day with two golds. Capricorn was very impressed. They all knew she had done it before, but everyone still felt like Aquarius might have used some of her own power to come out, not totally, but a little. They did know however that Lucy was more than capable of summoning three Zodiac keys with the proper training.

The last day she emptied her container by chatting with Capricorn, Loke, and Plue around the fire. They were all just starting to fade away as the last of her magic ended, but she could see the pride in their eyes.

She was just about to go to bed when she felt something slimy. She leaped up screaming, "Oh Mavis! Gross! It's on me! It's on me!" She was jumping around doing a weird jig and patting frantically at her legs.

"Blondie?" a deep voice calls out from the shadows. She immediately grabs her whip and launches it at the voice. She hears a hiss when it strikes his flesh.

"How dare you attack the great and honorable Laxus!" Freed jumps out of the shadows rapier razed.

She immediately retracts her whip, "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Damn Cosplayer! You were fast enough to hit him!" Bixlow said whistling. 'Fast, Fast, Fast,' his totems called.

They all moved into the fire light of Lucy's little camp. Lucy puts a hand on her heart, "Sorry, I didn't realize it was you guys! You scared me!"

Ever whapped Freed with her fan, "Lower that damned thing. We did sneak up on the poor girl."

Freed tisked and put his rapier away, "Well, she was the one screaming."

Lucy blushed, "Oh, that…" They all waited patiently for an answer. "There was a bug on me."

There was a moment of silence then all the males of the group started laughing. Ever gave an apologetic smile completely agreeing with Lucy on how disgusting bugs were.

They ended up joining her for the night instead of heading the rest of the way back to Magnolia. They were just returning from their mission which Lucy was thrilled to hear all about. She thanked Ever again for covering for her telling her that it actually got her this extra week of training too!

"Trainings working," Laxus commented. Lucy raised an eyebrow in surprise. Yeah Laxus had opened up to the guild, but he was still one of the strongest next to the Master and Gildarts. To get praise from him made her want to train even harder. The rest of the group seemed surprised as well. He shrugged at all of the attention, "She was fast enough to hit me." Everyone nodded in agreement, albeit Freed did so begrudgingly.

They ended up talking late into the night and returned to the guild together. When they arrived, people turned their heads in surprise at how casually they were all conversing with each other. No one had really seen Lucy with the Ranjishu or Laxus, so they were all surprised at the smiles on all of their faces as they exchanged banter.

Natsu came charging up throwing his arm around Lucy dragging her away, "Luce! Mira said you went on a mission without me! I get not brining Popsicle, but me!"

"Hey Ash for Brains!" Gray said punching the back of his head tossing his arm around Lucy. "But, seriously Lucy what's up? Did you go with the Ranjishu?" She could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Oh no. Nothing like that. I did a solo mission to pay off my rent. Then when I got back you guys were all gone…"

Erza cut her off, "I'm truly sorry about that. I didn't mean to leave you for our last mission where, I hear these two royally misbehaved," she glared daggers at the two which had them clutching each other in fear. "Then we had to leave you behind on our covert operation," Erza looked sorry.

"Don't worry about it! I went on a short mission with Levy, then I went and trained for a week!"

"So, you weren't with the Ranjishu?" Gray asked again still a bit protective of his teammate.

"No, we just came back at the same time," Lucy reasoned with them. They all stared at her a minute and decided to accept that as her answer.

"Well fine, but time for us to do a full team mission. Wendy's back so let's grab her too!" Natsu shouts.

"My turn to pick the mission," Gray shouts!

"Not if I get their first, Stripper!" Natsu shouts back. They both bolt towards the board ending up in a ball of flying fists.

Erza sighs mumbling something about the two behaving more like monkeys than mages before heading off to select the mission and get Wendy.

Lucy just stood there and sighed. She caught a glance of the Ranjishu at their regular table glancing down at her curiously. Ever gave her a look of sympathy, but she just gave her a small shrug and a smile. She was slightly excited about the budding friendship, and it gave her just the boost she needed to bring her back to her old smiling self.


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's chapter two. I started this a while back and have finally figured out the direction I want to go. I'm going to try to update once a day or so until I get you caught up. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. P.S. I am having some posting issues, so hopefully that doesn't continue!_

**Chapter 2**

The group of five was verbally sparring as they got off the train. Well, you could say the four were while one very sick member was being carried by a flying blue cat. Lucy and Erza were bickering with Gray about his need to strip in front of the client, specifically in front of the client's granddaughter. They were a conservative group, so the girl turned many shades of red when Gray's pants decided to come off.

Gray put his hands behind his head, "I don't see what the big deal is. She didn't seem to mind."

Erza's face turned red as she started to splutter. Wendy pipped in, "Maybe she was just being polite."

Carla nodded in agreement with Lucy and Wendy, "Polite or not, we must put our best foot forward in front of the clients to best represent our guild!"

"Not to mention, they took some of the reward away due to unprofessionalism," Lucy whined. Wendy patted her arm sympathetically.

"Yeah Popsicle, so stop stripping and ruining all our missions!" Natsu shouted finally coming back to life.

"Me?! I'll stop stripping when you stop blazing everything to the ground Ash for Brains!" Gray counters. The two immediately butt heads.

"Say that to my face, Ice Princess," Natsu counters.

"I just did, Boiler Breath," Gray spits back.

The two immediately end up going down in a flailing ball of limbs. They start wrestling and rolling around busting right through the guild doors. Lucy sighs putting her hand on her face while Happy floats over to cheer Natsu on.

Wendy murmurs something about needing a break and heads off to Fairy Hills with Erza in tow. Even they had had enough of the boys' need to break things. Don't get them wrong, it was something they loved about the boys. However, lately it had gotten to be a little trying especially for Lucy and Wendy who didn't grow up with the two, and Erza could only stop so many of their fights and well the rest she made worse.

As they brawled and rolled around, Lucy made her way to the bar. Mira greeted her and gave her her usual. Cana shifted closer to the two of them at Mira's next words, "Evergreen left me this when they stopped through the guild yesterday."

Lucy glanced down at the paper. It was a mission to guard some heiress discreetly. "There's no way my team…" Lucy starts, but Mira taps the paper again.

_We request for a single female who is able to blend in to higher society._

Lucy brightens as realization hits. Mira goes on, "She thought you could use another solo mission. Said this one was perfect for you."

Lucy nods and smiles touched that Evergeen had gone out of her way for her. She tells Mira to stamp it. She smiles to herself realizing she didn't need to leave for a few days because she just had to watch the heiress for the weekend probably while the girl flaunted herself around all of the annoying high class parties and clubs. A sudden thought occurred to Lucy, and she immediately bolts upstairs to the Thunder Legion's table.

When she gets up there, she sees Evergeen looking through a magazine, Freed reading, and Bixlow and Laxus talking about who knows what. She makes her way over to Ever much to Bixlow's and Laxus's surprise, but they pretend to ignore her.

"Hey Ever…" Lucy starts.

"I told you not to call me that," Evergreen says trying to fight back the half smile forming.

"Right," Lucy smiles and takes the seat next to her. "I just wanted to thank you for the other day, oh and this." She laid out the mission on the table.

"Oh please, I was thinking of the guild. The only three that could pull this off is Mira, you, or me," Evergreen shrugs trying to blow it off.

"Well, regardless. Thank you," Lucy says. She then lets out a small sigh after looking down at Natsu and Gray starting an even bigger brawl.

She goes to ask Evergreen a question, but is cut off when Freed jumps up annoyed, "This is absolutely ridiculous. This scroll is nonsense. I'm absolutely sure of it." Freed glares annoyed at Bixlow's and Laxus's snickers. He then realizes Lucy was sitting there, and quickly apologizes to her, "Oh Lucy-sama, forgive me. I didn't see you there."

She waves him off, "No biggie. What are you doing?"

"Just trying to crack the code on this scroll for a mission. I thought it was just in another language, but it doesn't translate to anything," Freed sits down in a huff. Well, as much as he can. He still holds on to his proper etiquette even when he's upset.

Lucy glances over at the job request, and then at the scroll. She also see's Freed's hurriedly written notes on the language. She was shocked that she actually had some knowledge of the language. "Mind if I have a look?" She asks.

Freed just huffs in response, while the other three all look at each other with doubtful expressions. They hadn't known anyone except maybe Levy who could figure something out that Freed couldn't.

She glanced over the scroll again, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't make sense…" She had looked over all of Freed's translations, and they were perfect. He even had tried out different dialects. She glanced back to the original request then back to the paper. She looked at Freed's notes and realized something. She turned the scroll sideways, then started drawing lines through part of Freed's work. He started to object, but then looked down again. He realized where she was going with it.

"How'd you?" Freed asked her completely awestruck.

She shrugged, "I studied the language briefly. One of my tutors said it opened the mind or whatever. I just remembered that the worst part of reading in this language is that the sentence structure moved in odd directions." She grabbed translucent paper laying it over the scroll and drew an odd scribbled pattern across the page. "Translate it in this order, and it should make sense."

Freed immediately set to work and a small smile bloomed across his face he found Lucy was right. Lucy turned to see the other three looking at her like she had two heads although Laxus expression was much more subdued then the others.

"Rocking bod and brains. You're the full package Cheerleader," Bixlow said. 'Package, package, package,' his totems echoed.

Lucy both blushed and huffed at his use of the nickname. Evergreen hit him with her fan in her defense. Lucy immediately changed the subject, "Anyway, Ever I was gonna ask you if you would help me shop for this mission. I'm not quite sure what the latest fashion is in these circles, and I don't have any of my old things since I…" she trailed off. She didn't hide the fact that she was a runaway, but she also wasn't just flippant about talking about it especially now since her father passed. It made her feel like a traitor somehow. She ran away when she could have had more time with him before he passed.

Ever nodded quickly pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts, "I'd love to! I never get much time to shop. Freed always runs off to a bookstore. Bixlow hits on anything with breasts, and Laxus just sulks in the corner."

"So I take it they won't be joining us," Lucy says with a teasing smile.

Freed doesn't respond as he's to engrossed in his work, Laxus gives her a 'Hell no' look, and before Bixlow can open his mouth Ever holds her fan over his face with an annoyed expression, "No, they won't." She lightens up at the next part, "We can have a girls day!"

Lucy giggled and raised an eyebrow at Laxus, "Afraid of a little shopping?"

Laxus tisks at her, "No. Just know it won't be a _little_ shopping, knowing Ever." Evergreen huffs at this, and Lucy smiles at their easy exchange. She wonders, not for the first time, why Laxus isn't like this with more of the guild. He catches her staring, "Problem Blondie?"

She shakes her head hiding her blush, "That's rich, considering your blonde too. C'mon Ever!"

Before she can make it a foot, Natsu jumps up on the second floor balcony, "Luce! Let's take a job without Erza and Ice Prick. Just the two of us!"

Lucy felt bad as it had been a while since the two of them had gone on a mission alone together, but she really needed to prepare for her mission this weekend. "Actually Natsu…" she started looking down at the paper in her hand.

"Oh cool! You picked one out already!" Natsu said yanking the paper from her hand. He looks at it a moment while Lucy fidgets nervously waiting for the truth to dawn on him. "Hmm… I don't think this will work Lucy. It says it needs a high class lady and neither of us fit that. Let's go pick a different one!"

Lucy pauses for a moment absolutely dumbfounded at what she just heard him say. She tenses up her anger boiling underneath. She keeps her voice eerily calm, "Well, that's too bad considering I already accepted the mission." When Natsu starts to object she adds, "Solo."

Natsu looks at her dumbfounded and a little hurt, "What? Why?"

"Because maybe I wanted to take a mission where I receive the entire reward for a change," Lucy hisses out ignoring his hurt expression.

Natsu brightens in understanding, or so he thinks, "That's why the frozen idiot won't be joining us. He won't be there to ruin everything!"

"He's not the only one!" Lucy explodes. "You burn down a building on every mission we go on! Even the ones where we don't have to fight!" She turns and grabs Ever's arm pulling her out of her shock. The whole table was shocked at her outburst, even Freed had looked up from his work. When she reaches Ever, she turns back on Natsu, "Oh and in case you forgot, I came from high society baka! I swear sometimes I wonder if you even realize I'm a girl!" With that she starts to pull Evergreen away. "C'mon Ever. We have shopping to do." Evergreen nods in agreement shooting the dragon slayer an angry glare.

Natsu looks back at Lucy utterly confused, "Well of course I know you're a girl. I sleep with ya most nights!" He gets no response from either of the girls as they storm down the stairs and out of the guild hall. He glances over at a smirking Bixlow and a stone faced Laxus. Freed just shook his head and went back to work.

Laxus just shakes his head before pulling his sound pods on, "You sure are an idiot, Natsu."

Bixlow's tongue rolled out of his mouth, "So, ya sleep with Cosplayer do ya?"

It had taken Lucy a short while to calm down, but she was pleasantly surprised to find what good company Evergreen was. They found no shortage of things to talk about as it seemed Ever was in need of girl time as much as she was. Erza was a great friend don't get her wrong, but Erza tended to lack the girly empathy she sometimes wished for. There was Wendy, but she was too young to always understand some of the things that were bothering Lucy.

Lucy was also right that Evergreen had excellent fashion sense, and even better she was a great bargain shopper. They got great deals at half the price Lucy was expecting to spend. They finished the evening at a café before promising to do it again.

A few days later Lucy left for her mission. The heiress, Madeline, although spoiled was not a complete pain. Lucy arrived mid-afternoon and the two got ready together. She mostly let Madeline fill the air with her mindless blather about who would be there and who she couldn't wait to dance with. She also kept telling her about the clubs they would be hitting after which, Lucy assumed, was the reason she was supposed to be there.

The first night went off without a hitch. It was the easiest, and honestly most fun she'd had on a job in a while. She just got to party, while avoiding drinking, and watch over Madeline. The two got ready for the next night, and Madeline had really opened up to her after Lucy had shown her Plue which Madeline couldn't get enough of.

Lucy went out in a form fitting red dress with a slit up the one thigh, so she would still be able to move. Madeline went for a tight clinging black dress that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. She also had on ridiculously high heels that even Lucy would be scared to walk in.

This night started out much the same jumping from one party to the next. Madeline did manage to stay somewhat aware of her surroundings and really wasn't a heavy drinker although she liked to make people think she was. As the night got later, Lucy got a prickling feeling on her neck that they were being watched. She casually glanced around and seen a male trio that she thought she had seen at several other places. That wasn't completely out of the question as many of these wealthier types were party hopping together. She turned away, but it still bothered her for some reason. She remembered Capricorn's training saying to always trust her instincts, and her instincts were screaming at her to get away from these guys.

Madeline unfortunately had the opposite idea. The men were very attractive and had acquired the attention of a number of girls. Madeline had been having a disinterested eye contest with the tall blonde in the middle. Unfortunately, it finally worked because the three were making their way over. Madeline feigned innocence, but Lucy just got more nervous.

"Can I refill that drink for you?" The blonde one asked Madeline.

"Hmm… Oh, I suppose," Madeline tried to keep an air of superiority around her. Lucy stayed off to the side as the dirty blonde next to the man leaned against the bar on the far side of Madeline. The brown haired man walked up to Lucy offering to do the same. She shrugged her agreement only to realize too late that they had them trapped in. She ran her hand over her keys that were in a hidden compartment of her purse for comfort.

They sat and talked for about thirty minutes before Lucy realized that they would be able to politely slip away now without causing a problem. However, Madeline had actually started drinking at this point and was starting to get a little sloppier leaning on the blonde man for support. It was then that she realized that third man had ordered their drinks then disappeared. She also realized Madeline had only had part of her drink and should not be acting like this. _Oh crap… _Lucy thought.

"Madeline. I think it's time to go," Lucy said grabbing Madeline's mostly limp arm.

"Bu' why, 'tis so mu- fun," she hiccupped at the end of the sentence. Her eyelids were half closed. Yep, something was definitely wrong.

"We promised your father we wouldn't be out as late tonight," Lucy said pulling Madeline's arm around her waist. She pushed past the two men holding all of Madeline's weight.

"Allow us to escort you home," the brown haired man said.

"It'd be rude to make you carry her all on your own," the blonde said.

"Don' urry tits her job…" Madeline mumbled back. Both of them raised an eyebrow curiously at her.

Lucy just covered with a nervous giggle, "Yeah, it's the job of a friend to look out for each other. She carried me all the way home last time. It's only fair I do the same for her."

Madeline tried to argue, but Lucy started to drag her away. When she got outside, she immediately started the ten blocks back to Madeline's house. It wasn't far, but carrying the girl back was going to make this short journey take forever. She turned down the block and rushed past a dirty blonde haired man trying not to draw attention to herself. Wait…

She found Madeline ripped from her grasp and was pushed up against the wall. The blonde held Madeline tightly in his arms running his hands from her lips to her waste, his face in her hair. "You two can have that one, she seems feisty. This one's mine." A small whimper emerged from Madeline's lips, but she was too helpless to do anything.

"You're about to figure out how feisty I really am," Lucy hissed. She then stomped her foot down hard on the dirty blonde. He released her arm which she used to smack the brown haired one. They both stumbled back surprised at her strength and before they could stop her she pulled Virgo's key, "Open Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

"Punishment Mistress?" Virgo asked.

"Aww sweet another chick!" One of them said.

"Shit! She's a mage!" Said the other.

"Yep!" Lucy grinned, "For them!" She pointed at the two that had jumped her. Virgo immediately disappeared into the ground dragging the other two down with her.

"Well this is a surprise," the blonde haired man said unamused, but also unafraid. He shrugged, "No matter. Two can play at that game." His eyes started to glow and all of a sudden Lucy's world went sideways. She fell to the ground. She tried to look up at the man, but the world was spinning. "My magic induces a sense of vertigo. Not the most powerful, but definitely has its uses…" He trails off running a hand down Lucy's body.

"Loke," Lucy whispered clutching at her handbag. She wasn't actually touching his key, but it was enough. Loke appeared behind the blonde decking him. He recovered Madeline before she could be hurt. Lucy blinked as the world righted. She still felt slightly dizzy, but things were better now. With Loke carrying Madeline, they quickly made it the rest of the way home. Capricorn confirmed that she had been drugged, and Virgo brought her an antidote.

When she had her tucked into bed for the night, she went down to explain the situation to Madeline's parents. They were livid when they saw the condition she came home in, but Lucy had told them off saying she'd explain after she was sure her charge was alright and tucked into bed.

She recounted the story to the family who although pissed that their daughter had gotten drugged were thrilled that Lucy was able to prevent anything worse from happening. They also took down descriptions and got information to the police.

The next day Madeline woke with a horrible headache, but she could still remember what happened and what almost happened. She started crying, but she wouldn't stop thanking Lucy offering to help her any time she needed it. The family gave her the reward, but Madeline's mother Christine pulled her aside after everything was settled. "Madeline told me you're a celestial wizard." Lucy was shocked and only nodded. "I also see you have nine of the golden gate keys." Lucy nodded again. "It's my understanding that a celestial wizard strives to have all of these." Lucy swallows hard trying to ignore the pang of grief in her gut. "I would like to offer our assistance in locating the other three for you."

Lucy was dumbfounded at their generosity, but shook her head. "Two of them are with the celestial wizard of Sabretooth, Yukino, and she is a great mage to her spirits. The other, well…" She ran her hand across the broken key. "Well, it doesn't exist anymore."

Christine gave a sad nod in understanding seeing the broken key, "From what I understand, celestial keys are near impossible to break, and seeing the bond with your spirits you wouldn't have done it lightly."

Lucy was once again stunned at this women's perceptiveness and knowledge, "Oh I love my spirits. I consider them to be just the same as you and me! But how do you know so much?" The weight in her gut made her slightly nauseous. A stranger picked up on this so quickly, but my own guild hasn't noticed. They don't even know what I lost to get them all back.

Christine nods again and muses to herself ignoring Lucy's question, "It's odd to me that the twelve zodiac keys could be unbalanced if one of them are broken."

"Unbalanced?" Lucy asks.

"Well, there are twelve to represent the twelve months of the year. They are balanced in that way. Magic always has some form of balance. Without the twelfth key, they are unbalanced breaking the laws of magic," Christine mused.

Lucy soaks in what she said unsure what to make of it. "How do you know so much about magic? I mean none of you are mages?" Lucy finally tries again.

"Oh, my brother was fascinated by it," Christine said. "He also didn't have any magic, but that didn't stop him researching every single type there is out there. I spent all my time with him when I was younger. I guess some of it rubbed off on me." Christine smiled at the thought then brightened even more, "Perhaps I'll call Camron and ask him to look into this twelfth key!"

Lucy's heart swelled. Then, she shoved it down. She was scared to be hopeful, horrified that it would feel like she was losing Aquarius all over again, "That isn't necessary, but thank you."

"Oh nonsense! After what you did for our Madeline! It's the least we can do," Christine said.

Lucy slowly made her way back to Magnolia musing over the things Christine had said. Try as she might, she was unable to stamp out the small storm of hope that was brewing within her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's the next update! Please enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Chapter 3**

The next day she arrived to the guild hall with a bounce in her step. She had once again had a successful mission, and try as she might to prevent it Lady Christine's words had given her hope. She now had a new path and was determined to see it through. She opened the doors to the normal brawl, but even that didn't deter her.

"Morning Lucy!" Mira chirped from behind the bar, happy to see Lucy back to her old self. She placed her normal drink in front of her and went off to refill others' orders.

Lucy scanned the guild looking for Levy to ask her more about the balance of magic that Lady Christine had talked about. It had been over a year and still nothing about Aquarius's key, so a new angle or lead was definitely worth looking into. To her dismay, Levy had left on a mission with Team Shadowgear, Gajeel, and Lily and wouldn't be back for a few days. She glanced around anxiously not sure she could wait that long.

Then a certain green haired mage caught her eye. She bolted over to Freed who was coming down the stairs with the rest of the Ranjishu. "Freed! Can I ask you somethin' quick?"

Freed glanced at his companions and nodded quickly, "Yes, Lucy-sama, how can I be of service?"

"I was just curious, what do you know about the 'Balance of Magic?'" Lucy asked.

Freed looked at her a little skeptically, "What specifically? That is a rather large subject."

"Well…" Lucy was stumped. She didn't know how to go into it without revealing her purpose. No one knew about Aquarius's key. No one had asked right away, then after the year break there hadn't been a good time bring up what had actually transpired at Tartarus. "I heard about it from a client. She was insisting that magic must always be in balance, and that if it wasn't in balance something should happen to fix that."

Freed nodded, "Yes, that's the basic idea of it in a nutshell. Why do you ask?"

"Well, umm…" Lucy started, but she was saved from answering when Laxus and the rest of the Ranjishu came over.

"Ready to roll?" Bixlow asked.

"Don't be rude they were talking!" Evergreen said yelling at Bixlow.

"Sorry, Blondie. We gotta go. Trains leaving soon," Laxus said.

"Don't call me that, you're blonde too!" She said glaring up at Laxus. It didn't quite work as she was mostly relieved to not have to answer Freed. Plus, Laxus just smirked down at her.

"Sorry, Lucy. Maybe another time," Freed said. Despite herself, Lucy looked disappointed, but tried unsuccessfully to hide it. "Perhaps, though, you could do some research in Crocus. They have an extensive library and a good section devoted to just this topic."

Lucy perked up immediately. "Oh thank you, Freed!" She was relieved. Now she could find answers without having to wait, and more importantly without having to divulge why she was looking. She waved them all off and headed to the door as they headed up to get their mission stamped by Mira.

As Lucy was nearing the door she was stopped by Natsu, "Hey Luce! Can we go on that mission now?"

Lucy felt bad. She really wanted to get to Crocus right away, but she had bailed on Natsu a lot recently. "Sure, but only if it's in Crocus. I really want to do some research at the library."

Natsu shrugged, "Works for me. Hey Mira, got any missions in Crocus?"

"Sorry Natsu, the Thunder Legion just took the only one we have right now," Mira said.

Freed and Evergreen looked at her apologetically, but Bixlow spoke up, "Sorry Cosplayer! We woulda given this one to you, had we known."

Natsu didn't seem to care much, but Lucy looked upset. "Hey Natsu… Can this wait? I really need to go to Crocus…"

"Aww c'mon Lucy! What do you want to go look at dusty old books for anyway?" Natsu whined.

Lucy involuntarily brushed her hands on her keys, "Natsu I…" She didn't know how to get out of this.

She was going to cave when Ever spoke up, "Actually Natsu, Lucy is going to be joining us."

Natsu and Lucy both turned on them in a whirl. Freed nodded in confirmation, "We knew she wanted to go to Crocus, so we thought we would let her join us."

"Yeah, thought it'd be fun to have a cute blonde along for once," Bixlow said catching on throwing her a week. Laxus raised an eyebrow at Bixlow's antics, but said nothing. Freed looked affronted that Bixlow was deeming the Great Laxus as uncute.

Lucy was baffled, but tried to play it off, "Ri-right! I forgot we discussed that."

Natsu looked peeved, "Lucy! Why are you going on a mission with them and not me?"

"It's just that it's in Crocus, no big deal. I'll go with you when I get back. Okay?" Lucy said. With that she quickly moved to follow them out the doors leaving a dumbfounded Natsu and guild hall in her wake.

When she finally got to the train station, she found the Ranjishu in their own compartment. She waved at Evergreen taking a seat across from her next to Laxus. She was grateful to them for helping her out of that, but she didn't want them to feel obligated to let her tag along. She told them so, but Evergreen waved her aside, "Nonsense! It's not a problem at all."

"Few more hands to take down a pack of beasties can't hurt," Bixlow shrugs. 'Can't hurt,' 'Can't hurt,' 'Can't hurt,' his totems chirp.

"Not that the great Laxus needs any help," Freed interjects, but quickly adds, "But, we would be happy to have you along. Besides, I'd be happy to help you research in Crocus!"

"Plus, we could go shopping too!" Ever adds getting excited.

"Well, as long as you don't mind. I'll try to stay out of the way," she peaks over at Laxus who had slid his sound pods on the moment the train had started moving. He looked slightly paler with his face pressed against the window. Lucy couldn't help it she started snickering.

Laxus opened one eye at her, "Problem?" He meant it to come out more demanding, but it really just sounded like a wheeze.

"Oh nothing… Just funny that you get motion sick too. Not as bad as Natsu, but still," she shrugged chuckling to herself taking out a book. He went to roll his eyes at her, but that made the whole thing worse. She stopped laughing, "Here." She patted her lap, and he eyed her skeptically. "What? Natsu says it makes him feel better?" At this point, they were all looking at her weird.

He was about to tell her off when the train lurched, and he almost lost it. Before he could protest, Lucy had taken his head and laid him down. She rested one arm on his side as she opened her book, and the other started running through his hair. He kept his eyes shut to ignore the shocked expressions of his teammates. He hated to admit it, but this was way better. He hardly felt sick at all, and her hand in his hair felt great.

Bixlow was the first to recover tongue lolling out in a snicker, Evergreen was eyeing both Lucy and Laxus with a curious gaze, and Freed looked affronted that anyone would touch Laxus like that. "Just what kinda relationship do you have with Natsu?" Evergreen finally asked.

"Hmm?" Lucy asked looking from her book.

"It's just your always together," Evergreen started.

"And ya sleep together," Bix added.

"So, we all just assume that you're together, together." Evergreen finished.

"Yeah, everyone thinks that, but no. And the sleeping together is him breaking in my window and taking over the whole bed." She gives a forceful glance to Bixlow so he understands. She then adds, "Maybe, we could be if he wasn't so…" Lucy looked at a loss for words.

"Infuriating?" Evergreen tried. Lucy gave a half committal gesture.

"Blind?" Bixlow tried with a snicker which was echoed by his totems.

"Unperceptive?" Freed tried unable to resist the allure of a word game.

"All three really. I mean he's my best friend, and I used to think there could be something more. But, lately I don't know. He's just been so reckless. Plus, I don't really think about dating much. I've been preoccupied," Lucy said.

"C'mon. Every girl thinks about dating," Evergreen said giving her a knowing look.

Lucy snorts, "Fine, but if you find a guy that could handle my crazy team let me know. Until then," she shrugs it off.

"Does your current preoccupation have to do with your trip to Crocus?" Freed asked.

Lucy tensed. Freed was observant, and it's not that she was hiding what she was doing, but she'd really rather not go into it. She'd probably turn into a blubbering mess. "Just something a past client had mentioned to me. I was curious about its application to celestial magic," Lucy said. Not a lie, but not the complete truth either. She was just glad Laxus was covering up her hip to keep them from seeing her keys even now her hand was itching to rub across them.

Freed nodded seeming to accept that as an answer. Evergreen shrugged and went back to her magazine to figure out where the best deals in Crocus were. Bixlow however continued to watch her long after she went back to reading. Her soul seemed the same as ever, a large golden orb. There were fissures in it, but so few people lived life without something happening. There were two that were deeper than the rest. The first he assumed was due to the death of her father. There were cracks growing out of it like tree branches which he also assumed were due to their tenuous relationship. The other large fissure left him stumped. He knew Acnologia and Tartarous had left scars on all of them, but no one's went quite as deep as this. It made him curious as to what happened in the guilds year absence to let the fissure become so deep. He might have to try and snoop around a bit more to figure out what caused it. It was dangerous to let cracks fester because they could start to blossom like a pestilence, and while the one pertaining to her father was sealed in a way it wouldn't cause any more harm, the other was untouched.

The other thing that always intrigued him about her soul was that her celestial spirits were also represented. He could see smaller golden and silver orbs orbiting around her soul. Again, he was brought up short. One orb was hallowing. It had a golden outer coating, but there was nothing inside of it, like the orb itself was fading away. This confused him. Perhaps Lucy had given away one of her spirits? He couldn't imagine she'd do that she always spoke about how precious they were to her. It was something he respected about her because he felt the same way about the spirits in his totems. They had even discussed in the past the similarities between their magics. His magic didn't seem to freak her out like it did others. Instead, she was curious to see if she could apply principles of his magic to her own. Nothing ever became of it, but it was nice to discuss his magic with others as he had not come across any other seith mages.

A while later, Lucy shook Laxus awake as they arrived in Crocus. He looked slightly embarrassed as his team smirked at him, but he just grumbled about stupid fairies and lead the way off the train. They strolled through the town which seemed to change every time Lucy came. The shops were ever changing with new boutiques popping up that Evergreen would rattle on about. Bixlow chatted with Laxus about the various girls that strolled by, and Freed stayed ever vigilant ready to guard Laxus from who knows what.

Laxus had them headed towards the client's house when a voice called out to them, "Well, well, well, it seems we've found some fairies a long way from home."

The group turned to find the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth smirking at them.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry about not posting for a couple days! I always hate waiting when I start reading a new story, so I'll try to keep the updates coming! Please enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Chapter 4**

Well, actually, it was more Sting smirking at Lucy, Rogue looking bored out of his mind, and Yukino ran up to them holding Frosch and Lector.

"Oh shut it Kitty Cat," Lucy snapped at Sting with a smile. He grinned at her as she made her way up to Yukino to give her a hug. "It's been a while!"

"No kidding! We are going to have to plan a girl's day soon. These two are starting to drive me crazy," Yukino said.

Rogue raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Me, I could never.'

Lector piped up, "The great Sting could never be annoying."

"Thanks buddy!" Sting said smirking at the two girls. He looked around, "Where's Natsu? I was hoping for a rematch."

Lucy rolled her eyes as every time they ran into each other the two fought. Not really like it used to be, but they both enjoyed the challenge. "Not here," Lucy said. "I'm on a mission with Laxus and the Ranjishu."

Yukino and Rogue both raised their eyebrows at each other. "So you're not with Team Natsu anymore?" Yukino asked.

"Oh no, nothing like that…," Lucy started.

"Oh good! Then, you've realized what a loser Natsu is and have come all the way to Crocus to hang out with me!" Sting grinned throwing an arm around Lucy.

"In your dreams Kitty Cat," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

"You bet you are," Sting whispered winking at her.

Lucy turned a light pink, but before she could push Sting away Loke decided to summon himself, "Unhand my princess, Kitty." He pulled Lucy out from under Sting's arm.

"L-lord Leo! Nice to see you again," Yukino stuttered.

"And it's lovely to see you as well, Lady Yukino," Loke said bending to kiss her hand. Rogue glared daggers at him.

From behind her, Lucy heard Laxus clear his throat in impatience. "Right… Well, we have to get going, mission and all. Maybe, we will see you later this week!" Lucy backed away. When Loke didn't follow, she rolled her eyes and said, "Force Gate Close."

Yukino and Frosch waved happily. Sting said something suggestive, but Lucy tried to ignore it. She was really embarrassed and took the lead towards the client's house. Here they were being so nice by letting her tag along, and her friends were being as embarrassing as ever.

Bixlow and Evergreen strode up beside her matching her fevered pace with ease. Bixlow loped an arm around her causing her to slow some, "Well things sure are interesting with you around Cosplayer." 'Sure are.' 'Sure are.' 'Sure are,' his totems echoed.

"Care to explain that?" Evergreen said sliding up to take her arm grinning at her mischievously.

"Oh well, we run into them from time to time. Natsu and Sting fight. Same old. Same old," Lucy said.

"Oh that I get," Ever said. "I was asking about that thing between you and Sting."

Lucy gave a very unlady like snort, "Nothing really. We went on a date once. Natsu showed up. They wrecked the place in a fight. End of story."

"Natsu in a jealous rage," Evergreen said mockingly.

Bixlow bust out laughing, "Natsu doesn't even know what jealousy is."

Lucy turned redder, "Can we talk about something other than my horrible dating life, please?"

Ever looked shocked, "Wait, there's more stories like this?"

Lucy looked down, "With a team like mine well, privacy really isn't a thing. Natsu comes in the window, regardless of the situation. Gray is always stripping in my apartment. Erza can be just as bad. So, yes, there are definitely more stories."

Evergreen patted her arm consolingly no longer teasing her, but Bixlow got caught up on something else, "Regardless of the situation? What kind of situations you getting into Cheerleader?"

With that Lucy turned bright red and shoved him off. Evergreen started wrapping him with her fan, but winked back at her like I want details later. She turned even redder at that.

Freed cleared his throat stepping up closer with Laxus beside him, "I could add some runes to your residence. To keep your teammates out when they are unwanted."

Lucy was shocked, "You'd do that for me?"

Freed nodded, "Of course, we're guild mates after all."

Lucy nodded smiling, "I'll think on it, but thank you for the offer."

Laxus who had been watching and listening very closely despite the sound pods on his head finally cut in, "If you two are done," he said to Evergreen and Bixlow, "we're at the client's place."

It turns out they had arrived at a major trading post. They walked into the manager's office trying to stay out of the way of all of the hustle and bustle. Freed and Bix took up places by the door, Laxus took a seat with Evergreen quick to follow. This left Lucy feeling awkward as ever, so she tried to seem invisible on the back wall.

The manager looked up from his papers and various calls to Laxus's introduction, "Hmm? Fairy Tail mages? Right. Beasts keep attacking our livestock to the north east of town. There's a small settlement there. The mayor will be expecting you within the week. When you finish, he will pay you." The man went back to looking at his papers. Several lacrima devices went off, and he started answering them. They took that as their cue to leave although not without Evergreen casting a few annoyed glances his way. Lucy ushered her out before he could actually catch her glare.

They decided to rest up at an inn that night before heading out. Everyone decided to split up. Laxus and Bixlow headed to get supplies, Ever decided to check out some new boutiques, and Freed decided to show Lucy the library. When she got there, she wasn't disappointed. The place was huge, and she wasn't sure she was ever going to be able to leave.

Freed chuckled at her, "I know the place is quite overwhelming, but the sections you need are this way." He led her up several flights of stairs and through a maze of bookshelves. Finally, he brought her to a smaller room where all the walls were lined with shelves. "This room should have everything you need. Of course, the balance of magic is listed in many old scripts this should at least give you the base you're looking for."

She glanced around overwhelmed. She didn't even know where to start. She started running her finger along the titles. Freed cleared his throat, "If you're newer to the subject, I suggest starting here." He placed several large tomes on the desk in the middle of the room. "From there, you should be able to direct yourself better. If you want, I can help you loo…"

"No, no, I-," Lucy cleared her throat realizing she was being rude. "Thank you, but I need to get a base before I can really formulate my question. Thank you so much, really. I will call for you if I need anything."

Freed nodded at her trying to think of what to say to get her to open up. Lucy helps everyone, and now it was clear something was eating at her. It would be nice if he could return the favor for a change. Eventually, he shrugged it off and decided to peruse a different section deciding to come check up on her later.

However, Freed is also known to get distracted by books, so when later finally did roll around he realized it was much, much later than he predicted. His team always met up for dinner when in towns like this. He bolted off to meet them assuming Lucy had already left. When he arrived at dinner, though, he was surprised to see Lucy was not there. They decided to leave her be as she was obviously busy. They figured this was the reason she came, so they thought it was best not to distract her. Eventually, they all headed to their rooms for the night agreeing to meet at first light.

The next morning the boys were waiting in the lobby for Evergreen who was, per usual, the last one to be ready. However, Evergeen came down the stairs much more awake then normal. "Is Lucy down here?" She asked slightly frantic.

The boys all shook their heads confused. "You don't suppose she's still at the library?" Freed asked slightly concerned. Now he really wished he would have invited her out last night.

Just as they were about to go looking for her, Lucy came bursting in the doors panting hard, "I'm here! I'm here! Sorry I'm late!" She bent over to take a breath. Her hair was all pulled back a few strands falling out in the front. Her clothes were the same as yesterday, and there were large bags under her eyes.

"Lucy! You had me worried!" Ever stormed up to her. "Why didn't you come back?"

Lucy looked up sheepishly still panting, "Sorry! I was in the library."

"All night?" Ever asked shocked.

Lucy nodded and shifted her bag, "Don't worry, I got a little sleep! So, I won't slow you down!" She shifted her bag again. "So, let's go?"

They all turned to Laxus who just shrugged and led the way. Bixlow followed after him murmuring, "Wow, Cheerleader rocks the morning after look too." Before Laxus can respond, Bix yelps and turns to find Lucy had kicked him hard. She smirked and linked arms with Evergreen pulling her out the door talking about the boutiques she found yesterday. Laxus snickered down at Bixlow as he got up, but he had to admit Bix was definitely right about Lucy.

They headed out into the tree line Laxus leading the way. He was basically going to sniff out any creatures in the area, and he immediately detected Vulcans. They tried to keep Ever and Lucy in the middle as these guys did like to go after girls. That didn't end up being too much trouble as Lucy would keep chatter with anyone in the group which forced someone to always be near her. She also matched his demanding pace well despite the lack of sleep. It impressed him that she could do so well on empty, but he was curious to see how she would do later on in the day and when they had to fight. He knew she was a good celestial spirit mage, but he really hadn't seen her fight too much. He'd been knocked out during Tartaros when she took on several of the demons, and no one really seemed to know what she did during that time to get free everyone. However, since then he'd only really heard about her in relation to her team where she was pretty unremarkable. He wasn't really sure what to expect.

Lost in his musings, he was almost, _ALMOST,_ surprised by a group of Vulcans. Luckily, Bixlow's totems had warned them just in time. They came into a clearing of twenty Vulcans. There was a moment's pause before both sides launched at each other, the Vulcans primarily targeting Lucy and Evergreen. Evergreen took to the air with her fairy wings and used Fairy Machine Gun. Freed immediately started writing up runes surrounding the clearing, so they could trap the Vulcans. Bixlow starts shooting them down with his dolls, and Laxus rushes forward zapping and punching all of the Vulcans near him.

Lucy takes a second to watch them go in perfect formation, but is shaken awake when she sees a Vulcan charge towards Freed. "Open gate of the archer, Sagittarius!"

"Moshi, Moshi!" Sagittarius says saluting off in the distance.

"Take down that Vulcan!" Lucy says summoning her fleuve d'étoiles and attacking the Vulcan nearest to her.

"Right 'O m'lady!" Sagittarius says firing a barrage at the Vulcan keeping him off of Freed.

Lucy then becomes focused on the four Vulcan all grabbing at her. She is forced to dodge and roll back several times going on the defensive. She glances around seeing that there were seven reaching up and jumping at Evergreen who was floating above them. Bix was firing at those below her. Laxus was taking on another eight as she continues to hold her own waiting for Freed to finish his rune circle.

Eventually, Laxus finishes off his group, Sagittarius took down his one, and the six under Evergreen were dropped. Lucy still had two on her while she'd managed to kick the other two unconscious. Suddenly, she does a count. One was missing. There were seven on Evergreen, not six! She glances over to see one jumping from a nearby tree at Evergreen's back side.

"Sagittarius!" She calls.

"Aye, aye m'lady!" He calls back shooting one powerful arrow right past Evergreen right into the Vulcan. It drops him in one hit.

"Nice wor…" Lucy starts to call when she is tackled down by the two Vulcans still on her.

"Lucy!" Evergreen calls out!

She felt smooshed and cramped, but really they were just trying to get ahold of her not smash her. "Star dress, Taurus form," she whispers brushing her keys.

She immediately transforms and gains Taurus's strength. She's able to heft the two monstrous monkeys off of her and swings her axe to drop them. She turns around while changing back smiling at her group who stares at her dumbfounded.

Evergreen comes up to her, "Are you okay? You could have got hurt cause of me!"

Lucy brushed it off, "No biggie! I'm just happy to be of use!"

"Don't think ya have to worry about that Cheerleader," Bix said then frowned. "That nickname doesn't really fit ya…" 'Name.' 'Name.' 'Name,' his totems chant. He seems to be disappointed in this and gets lost in thought.

"You were a great help, Lucy! You covered me well!" Freed nodded at her.

Laxus came over after tying up the last of the Vulcan. "Yeah, not bad Blondie," he adds appreciatively. "Let's stay for the night. Bix deal with them, Freed camp, Ever water."

Everyone nods and heads off in their own directions. Lucy shifts nervously, "What about me?"

"You and I are going hunting," Laxus says with a hungry smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

_Here's the next update. This chapter is pretty light as I wanted to start developing Lucy's relationship with Laxus. Hope you all enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Chapter 5**

Lucy had no idea what to think of Laxus as she followed him. She wasn't even really sure what she was hunting for. She had left her too heavy pack off with Freed who looked confused as to what she had in there. She just shrugged and headed off after Laxus to avoid questions.

After about ten minutes of walking she finally asked, "Ummm, Laxus?" He grunted in response. "What exactly are we hunting for?"

"Animals? What else?" Laxus responded in a no nonsense manner.

"Well, why'd you bring me? You're a slayer. You don't really need…" Lucy started.

"Shhh," Laxus said stepping back beside her. He hunched down behind some bushes, and she followed suit. They waited a moment and a few deer popped out into the clearing. "I wanna see that aim again," Laxus finally whispered.

She shivered at his closeness his breath touching her ear. She swallowed hard and brushed her hand over Sagittarius's key. At first, she was just going to summon him again, but at the last minute she changed her mind, "Star dress, Sagittarius form." She shifted into her bowman gear and took aim. She launched two arrows and dropped two deer. She shifted back.

Laxus stalked out into the clearing and appraised the kills. "Nice work! Both clean kills," Laxus said to her removing the arrows and starting the cleaning process. Lucy smiled at the compliment proud that he was praising her. She leaned forward to watch him. She hadn't cleaned stuff too much as usually Erza took the opportunity to work on her blade skills.

She asked him questions as he went along, and he even let her do parts of the second one. He was leaning down over her when he heard it. He went tense, and so did she. She glanced up at him faces inches apart. It could have been a moment if she wasn't so worried about what that roar was.

Laxus leaned back on his haunches glancing up at the cave in the mountain above the forest. "Well, now we know why the Vulcan have all come down," Laxus said.

Lucy gulps and looks up at the cave too. "What is that?" Lucy asked.

Laxus shrugs, "Not sure, but I have a couple guesses. Let's head back tell the others what we found."

Lucy nods relieved that she won't have to go up there today. She was tired from all of the summoning, not to mention the lack of meals and sleep were finally starting to get to her. She moves to get up and winces slightly. Normally people would miss it, but Laxus being a slayer did not. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Ya okay there, Blondie?"

She glared back at him forgetting her fear and pain for a second, "Ya Blondie, I'm fine." She starts moving forward, but it seemed sitting made her stiffer than she thought. All of her aches and pains were starting to come out, and she winced again. Laxus raises an eyebrow at her while he hefts the skinned deer meat up over his shoulder. He doesn't say anything as they make their way back, but slowly Lucy starts wincing more and more. He watches as her fatigue sets in. Finally, they get back to the campsite. The other three were all gone washing up, so Laxus gets the meet cooking.

She sits down heavy, and Laxus finally prods at her with a stick. Lucy scowls at him then sighs, "Just a little sore from today. Those Vulcans landed a good one before I got my star dress on."

He seen her hand wrapped around her midsection, "Here. Let me see." He walked over to her, and he's confused as he hears her heart rate increase. She lifts up her hand, and slowly lifts up some of her shirt. Her heart rate increases, and he starts to smirk, "Calm down Blondie, I can come up with something better than this to get your shirt off."

Lucy turns bright red and goes to punch him. He grabs her wrist easily chuckling to himself, "Now let me see." He pulls her shirt up more showing most of her stomach and side. There was a nice bruise already forming and a few cuts from Vulcan claws across the top. "Damn, ya shoulda said something. I wouldn't a made ya go hunt," Laxus said.

"Don't do that!" Lucy said suddenly angry. "I'm a mage too! I don't need coddled!"

Laxus was surprised by the fire in her eyes. He lifted up his hands in surrender, "Not saying you do, but we have a long week ahead, and you hurt doesn't help what we need to do."

Her fire left as quickly as it came. "Right, sorry…" she murmured. He shrugged and moved them both next to the fire. He found some ointment and applied it to the cuts. She hissed at the pain, but didn't say anything. He was just finishing up when the others came back into the clearing.

They stopped dead in their tracks. Bix and Ever exchanged a glance before getting mischievous smiles. "We interruptin something?" Bix called tongue lolling out.

Ever jumped in, "Because we can come back."

Lucy turned red and started to splutter which caused Laxus to chuckle, "Get yer heads outta the gutter. I'm just seeing to Lucy's wounds."

Evergreen sobered up at that and came over to check. Bixlow and Freed followed. "Never see him tendin' any of our wounds…" Bixlow mutters. Freed nodded in agreement. Bix got a soft zap from Laxus telling him to shut it which sent him into a new fit of giggles.

Evergreen peaks at Lucy's stomach which Laxus was just beginning to wrap, "That's from when they tackled you wasn't it…"

Lucy looked up and smiled at Evergreen, "Yeah, but I've gotten worse from getting in the cross fire of Natsu and Gray. It's no biggie." Evergreen nodded, but didn't look convinced.

They all settled down to eat for the night discussing the creature up in the mountain caves. They all agreed to go check it out at first light. They figured whatever it was, it was scaring the Vulcan down from the higher elevations. Lucy was the first to start nodding off. It didn't surprise anyone. She'd worked hard, but was still running on practically no sleep. She curled up in a sleeping bag next to the fire and dozed off. Slowly everyone else began to follow her. Freed had set up runes surrounding their campsite, so no one had to stay up to keep watch. Plus, very few things could sneak up on Laxus's dragon slayer ears and Bixlow's totems.

Lucy awoke to her keys vibrating. She yanked on her sweatshirt and added a little more wood to the fire. She had asked Horologium to wake her up early, so she could do more reading. She was still exhausted, but she was focused.

She pulled one of the books she'd borrowed from the library out of her bag and picked up where she left off. She had been taking notes, but so far most of it was just the basic concepts like which magic was the opposite and balance to the other. She hadn't found much talk about celestial spirit magic at all. She found very interesting concepts about how her magic mixed well with dragon slayer magic due to the long history of how dragons and the celestial spirits came into being, but none of it helped her. She slammed her book in annoyance when light first started to shine on the clearing. She moved about her business cleaning up and starting breakfast, but little did she know she was being watched.

Laxus continued to watch her as she got breakfast ready. He had heard her wake up very early. He'd assumed she'd just been cold and was going to go back to bed, but when she had started reading he was surprised. After an all-nighter the night before and a long day of work, he expected her to be toasted. However, here she was pouring over books she'd brought along. That explained why her bag was so heavy at least. He contemplated asking her, but it was clear she was avoiding the topic with everyone. He wasn't sure why. If she was just looking into her magic, what was the big deal with getting help? Maybe she just wanted to get stronger on her own? That made sense to him. He was much the same way.

He had found himself dozing off and watching her throughout the rest of the early morning. He liked the way the fire reflected off her brown eyes and made her hair more golden. He watched her squint in frustration and liked the way she could get so focused on something. He'd been impressed with her yesterday. Not only had she held her own, but she had also covered for her teammates. She watched how they fought, assessed the situation, and blended in seamlessly with the team. He found himself almost excited to see what else she had in store.

Laxus re-awoke to Lucy slamming her book. He could tell she was frustrated, and some part of him wanted to go over and comfort her. He quickly decided to brush that thought away as then he would have to explain how he'd been watching her all morning. He watched as Lucy bustled about her morning routine. She washed her face, rolled up her sleeping bag, and started breakfast. She walked to the edge of the clearing and slipped into new shorts and combat boots. He'd watched her change admiring her long legs, but not really getting to see anything due to the longer sweatshirt she had on. He felt Bixlow nudge him. He glanced over at the sprawled out seith mage.

"Enjoying the view?" Bix whispered over at him stretching his arms out. Thankfully, his totems decided not to repeat him this morning. Laxus let out a low growl. He wasn't sure why. Bix and him normally did check out girls together, but for some reason Lucy was different. Bix raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the forest floor." He looked back over at Lucy returning towards the fire and whistled appreciatively at her as she got close. He wasn't ashamed that he'd been watching her, but it got under his skin that Bix had been doing the same.

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, "Keep it up Bix, and you can just say good bye to breakfast."

Bix rolled over grinning at her, "C'mon Cosplayer. You wouldn't deprive me of my needs!" He winked at her over the last part.

She turned slightly red and turned to Laxus, "Hey Laxus, care for two servings? Bix isn't going to be joining us for breakfast this morning."

Laxus chuckled at her sitting up, "Sure Blondie. Wouldn't be a slayer if I turned down someone offering food."

Bix look betrayed and laid back with a hand over his heart, "Where's the loyalty?"

Evergreen took this moment to wake up and throw stuff at Bix. Lucy looked shocked. Evergreen didn't even have the graciousness to look embarrassed as she stormed out of the clearing.

Lucy looked to the boys for help wondering if she should go after her. Bix responded, "Only if ya have a death wish."

Laxus nodded, "She's fine just not a morning person."

Freed got up and sniffed the pot, "I have to say Lucy-sama that smells great."

"Oh thanks! Wendy and I usually do the cooking with Team Natsu as Gray and Natsu have odd tastes, and it's the one thing Erza actually isn't good at," she said conversationally as she stirred the pot adding spices from her bag.

Laxus chuckled nodding, "Yeah, Scarlet has never been able to cook. Mira loved to challenge her to contests back when they were always going at it. I ended up being a food taster a lot… Erza's stuff was…" Laxus shook his head in disgust. "Well, it made a dragon slayer not want to eat." Bix started laughing.

Lucy nodded in agreement, "It took one mission with the bunch, and I quickly realized I was going to starve or learn to cook."

"Beauty, brains, and a cook. Ya got the whole package Cosplayer," Bix said appreciatively.

Lucy blushed and handed everyone their bowls, "Just for that, you can have breakfast." Bix smiled at her, Laxus scowled into his bowl, and they all dug in.

Once Evergreen got back and had her breakfast, the group set out towards the cave Lucy and Laxus had found yesterday. They kept it casual as they knew they would be traveling most of the day. They ran into a few stray Vulcan here or there, but generally Bixlow's totems would take them out before they even knew about them. Lucy did get to take one out with her whip which once again surprised everyone, especially Laxus, at her agility and precision.

By nightfall, they got close to the base of the mountain. They set up camp once more and rested. They hadn't heard any cries like Laxus and Lucy had in the clearing, but Laxus said he could smell monsters. That put everyone on edge. Lucy got a very unrestful night once again due to her anxiety about whatever was in the cave. She ended up getting up early deciding to read as she wasn't sleeping anyway.

The morning went by much the same, and Laxus lead the way up the mountain. Finally, after climbing all day they finally got to a ledge just below the cave. The sun was just starting to set when they heard a loud roar which was echoed by more roars from the cave above. They saw large, black wings coming at them from the sky line and a barbed tail casting sharp shadows from the setting sun. They all pressed back into the ledge when Laxus swore under his breath. "Holy mother of…" Bixlow whispered. Then, the group of five dropped into the earth.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry about the cliffhanger yesterday, but I couldn't resist! This chapter is much shorter, but I'm trying to keep the updates coming quick. __Now without further ado, on with the story! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Chapter 6**

"Laxus, light please," Lucy whispered. Laxus allowed some electricity to flow along his body casting a soft glow. "Thanks Virgo! Good work!"

"Of course, Princess. Punishment time?" The pink haired maid spirit asked opening the hole back up, so they could get out.

"No, Virgo," Lucy rolled her eyes and sent her spirit back.

"So that's the kinda thing your into, huh, Cosplayer?" Bix asked poking her. She swatted at him turning to face the group.

"Nice thinking Lucy," Freed said, "Now we may still have the element of surprise."

Lucy smiled at him but gave a small shrug, "I was more just terrified of being wyvern food. I bet it still knows we're here, though." Everyone looked at her confused, but she gestured to Laxus.

Laxus nodded in agreement, "It can probably smell us. Wyverns have a great sense of smell. I mean they are related to dragons after all."

"That was a wyvern?" Evergreen asked. "I've never seen one so big before."

Freed nodded, "While uncommon, the alpha males of a large pack grow to be huge, but the rest of the pack tend to be the normal size."

Lucy looked at him confused. "Spit it out, Blondie," Laxus said catching her look.

She was shocked that he noticed her, but obliged, "It's just that, well, haven't you heard of the beta females before?" Everyone looked at her clueless except for Freed.

Freed nodded, "The ones who sire the alphas children. What about them?"

Lucy looked unsure, "It's just that all of the stories I've read, the betas are even bigger than the alpha."

It was Freed's turn to look confused, "I haven't come across that before. I suppose it's possible, but it's highly unlikely that there is a wyvern bigger than that one." He didn't mean to write her off, but he really didn't see how a wyvern could be any bigger.

"Right, I'm sure I'm just getting it confused with something else," Lucy conceded. She trusted Freed, but it was still nagging at the back of her mind.

Laxus considered his group for a moment, "Alright. Regardless, be on guard. There will be more of those guys in the cave. Let's go."

Following Laxus's lead, the group made their way into the cave. Laxus brought up the front using his dragon slayer senses to keep the group on its toes. Bix's totems scouted the side tunnels to make sure they weren't ambushed, but Laxus followed his nose towards the main group. Lucy trailed behind the group worry eating at her.

They marched on for what seemed like an hour when finally they came across carcasses of dead animals. Evergreen made a face, "Now we know where the town's livestock are." Everyone nodded grimly and kept moving. Based on how many bones there were, this was a decent sized hoard.

Laxus put up a hand to have everyone be on their guard. They all peeked around the corner which let out into a large cavern. Laxus had no trouble seeing due to his slayer senses, and Bix could sense the wyvern souls. However, everyone else was at a loss. They were going to be practically useless.

They pulled back for a moment to discuss strategy. "I got five around the perimeter and the big one in the back," Laxus said.

Bix nodded and said, "I think there's another behind that one. I'm getting another soul reading back there."

Laxus nodded at him not doubting his friend, although he was confused as to why he couldn't see that one.

"We can't see in there. How do we deal with this?" Evergreen asked annoyed that she was going to have to sit out of the fight.

"Loke could light up the room?" Lucy asked/ stated.

Laxus nodded at her, "Before that, Freed I want you to write a rune trap to keep them in there. Don't want any escaping on us." Freed nodded. "Lucy, take the three on the right. Ever, two on the left. I'm going after the alpha. Bix, provide support where needed. Freed after you finish the runes, figure out what the thing behind the alpha is." Everyone nodded getting into formation.

Lucy pulled her whip and fingered her keys. She was going to summon two spirits and take the third on herself. She assumed that's why she got the three side. She was proud that Laxus had this much faith in her and didn't want to disappoint.

The group charged into the room. Lucy immediately summoned Loke and Taurus. Loke charged his fist which Freed immediately wrote a rune to contain. This successfully lit up the room. All of the wyverns shrieked in protest at the sudden light. While they were disoriented, the group charged.

Evergreen broke through and hit one of her wyverns with her eyes. It effectively turned one to stone while she turned a fairy machine gun on the other. Lucy, Taurus, and Loke all charge at a Wyvern in turn. With all of the "small fry" preoccupied, Laxus charged up the center right at the alpha. The wyvern was just as big as earlier, but that didn't even slow Laxus up as he charged the thing. He drilled it right in the side of the face with a Lightning charged punch. The wyvern looked taken aback, but quickly shot out a claw at Laxus. He dodged with his lightning and the two continued to play cat and mouse.

Bix immediately sent his babies in to help Lucy trusting Ever in her one on one. He was slightly shocked that Laxus had sent Lucy against the three, but after giving her a moment he understood why. With her spirits, Lucy was a small army on her own. Not to mention, she was holding her own with the whip although it wasn't the best offensive weapon for facing a wyvern. He used his babies to blast her wyvern back which allowed her to get a good grip on its leg with her whip. This one was much smaller than the others which allowed her to rip its leg out from under it causing it to fall. Meanwhile, Loke and Taurus had both battled their wyverns back smashing them with their lighted punches or ax, respectively. Right when Lucy's wyvern fell, Loke smashed his sideways into hers causing them to collide and tangle. Taurus finished his wyvern off by picking it up and launching it at the other two. It was a wyvern pile where legs, wings, and tails were all wound up. After assuring they were down, Lucy dismissed her spirits with an exhausted smile to Bix. Holding two spirit gates open while fighting was exhausting, but she was proud of herself even if she needed the assist from Bix.

When they turned, Evergreen was just turning her other wyvern to stone and met the group in the middle. Laxus was just dealing the final blow to the alpha when they heard a screech ring through the cave. Freed was thrown across the room into Bixlow where they landed in a pile of limbs. Laxus had turned to look at them, but went rigid when Lucy's eyes went wide at what was behind him.

The back wall of the cave seemed to be moving as a pair of gleaming eyes peered at them accented by a full set of razor sharp teeth. "Damnit Blondie, why'd you have to be right?" Laxus whispered as the cavern opened up to reveal a much larger wyvern at the back of the cave.


	7. Chapter 7

_Here's the next update. A few notes: I'm loving all of your comments. I'm a few chapters ahead, so it's fun to see what you like and dislike to work into my writing. I'm glad you are all enjoying it. Also, a shout out to Oevomel who has commented three times already! I really appreciate it! To respond to your comment, no this will not be a harem story. There will be some relationship stuff in it, but usually to lighten it up and to add a side note to the main story. It is not the whole point of this story. Overall, I would say besides the main plotline, which is developing more over the next few chapters, this story focuses on Lucy's friendships outside of Team Natsu, although they will still be in it. With that said, on with the story! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. _

**Chapter 7**

The roar echoed through the cave causing it to shake. "You good, Freed?" Evergreen asked helping him off Bix.

Freed nodded, "Yes, but it seems Miss Lucy was correct. The betas are much larger than the alphas."

"I'm good, thanks Ever," Bix sassed while getting up. She rolled her eyes at him as she turned to face the threat.

Lucy had stayed rooted in her spot shocked at the size of the beast. In the back of her mind, she was shocked at how casual the team was as this monstrosity that faced them. She hated to admit it, but she was terrified, and it had her rooted in place. The wyvern launched a large claw out at them causing Laxus to jump back. He yanked Lucy back with him, so they were out of its immediate reach.

"Head in the game, Blondie," Laxus whispered to her. The jolt had broken her immobility, and she nodded at him determined. Laxus turned back to face the wyvern smiling at her tenacity. Yes, she had gotten scared, but all she needed was some encouragement and now she was good. He admired how she recovered. She was still a fresh mage in his opinion, even considering everything they had been through. She really hadn't been practicing magic for more than a year as a guild mage, and she'd already accomplished and survived some very major things.

Laxus commanded his team to spread out and surround it. They all lashed out at it long range as they waited for an opening. Lucy had summoned Sagittarius to fire arrows keeping her whip on hand to try herding the beast to help Laxus get an opening. Everyone else fired long range while Laxus would zip in to land a blow. This went on for a while, but the beast really didn't seem fazed. It also didn't really move from its spot. The whole group was exhausted from fighting so long, and they really couldn't keep this up forever. Not to mention, Laxus's electrically powered attacks weren't very effective against the beast's resistant hide.

The whole group started to pull back to regroup when Lucy caught sight of it. She returned Sagittarius to his gate while a small plan formed. She called over to the group, "Bix, can I borrow your totems?" He glanced at her lost giving a confused, half nod. What did she mean borrow his babies?

The wyvern finally launched out at the mass of the group which pulled her farther from the back of the cave. Lucy darted in behind the Beta. Laxus called out to her, but was forced to block the wyverns lunge. Lucy vaulted over the large tail that was flailing about. She hit the ground and rolled coming up in a crouch next to her prize, two large wyvern's eggs. She summoned Virgo and tunneled out of the cave with Bixlow's totems right behind her. She didn't bother wasting time closing the hole behind her as there was no way the wyvern could follow her. She bolted through the tunnel Virgo had made and came out on the other side of the mountain range. She could hear the screeching of the beta wyvern and knew it wouldn't be long until it chased after her.

She looked to the totems, "You guys are faster than me. Would you mind giving me a ride?" There was a moment of anticipation. She was going off the hunch that her magic relating to celestial spirits would allow the totems to understand her wish. She'd discussed the similarities in her magic with Bix before, but this was very unprecedented. They floated in front of her for a moment more and just as she was going to give up they chorused, "Ride, ride, ride!"

She heaved a sigh of relief as the tipped her onto them and bolted. She directed them farther into the mountain range, and they responded to her wish perfectly.

Back in the cave, the wyvern was livid. The team launched themselves to the cave walls and out of the way as the beta's tail went crashing into the cavern's side. It snuffed at the hole Lucy had made and started clawing at it ignoring the team entirely. When she realized that she wasn't going to get anywhere that way, she turned and launched herself down the cave entrance.

The team blinked at each other in shock. Bixlow started to sweat and leaned to the side for rest. Freed made his way over to support him. "Could anyone tell me what just happened?" Ever asked confused.

Freed nodded, "I seen Miss Lucy grab two large wyvern eggs before she darted through her tunnel. She must have been drawing the Beta away."

"Yea, she's riding my babies quite a ways," Bix confirmed. He was straining to keep the souls attached to the totems, but the farther away they got the more magic it drained from him.

"She truly is a clever one," Ever smiled proud of her new friend.

"Only problem is, when that thing catches up to her. She'll be alone," Bix murmured worried.

Laxus had already made his way over to her small tunnel picking up her scent much like the wyvern had. "Then we best get going," he said as he electrified his body. His team all nodded all of them summoning their winged forms, with Freed carrying Bix to avoid any more magical taxation on him.

Lucy wound deeper and deeper into the mountainous region relying on her memory from a recent mission with Team Natsu to get her where she was going. They had been asked to clean out a Vulcan's nest which they'd had little trouble with and since the mission was so far away their destructive tendencies actually allowed them to get the full reward. However, not more than a few weeks later, the job was there again. It seemed that mountain Vulcans just swarmed this area for some reason. She was just about to the cave when she heard the terrifying screech behind her. "Shit," she whispered to herself only to be echoed by the totems. _Great now I'm teaching his totems bad words. I hope Bix isn't mad at me! _She thought in the back of her mind. The forefront of her mind was terrified. She was so close to the cavern Team Natsu had used as their base for the mission. She remembered it being huge, and as it finally came into sight she sighed with relief that her memory was right.

She jumped off the totems and raced to the back wall and placed the eggs down gently. Finally finished with her plan, what was left of her adrenaline ebbed away and she started to stagger. She'd used a lot of magical power summoning so many keys and for so long. She could tell the totems were lagging as well. They hadn't followed her into the cave and were sitting on a rock at the edge of the clearing. She turned starting to make her way out when she saw a shadow encompass the clearing. She fingered her keys, but realized she didn't have enough energy to summon a Zodiac key and none of her silver keys were true fighting spirits.

She moved to the side of the cavern trying to seem non-threatening hoping the Beta would take its place over the eggs once again. Unfortunately, she wasn't that lucky. The Beta was pissed that she had escaped with her treasures and wasn't going to let that slight pass unforgiven. It lashed a claw out at her, and Lucy rolled to dodge. She pulled her whip to try to deter the beast, but it only seemed to aggravate the thing more. She tried to dodge the beast again, but this time she was too slow and a claw threw her back into the wall. She yelped in pain as she tried to get up. The wind had been knocked out of her, and she was struggling to draw breath. The beast closed in on her, and she was shocked to find how clean and white the Beta's teeth were which made her wheeze in exasperation. _Who thinks about wyvern dental hygiene as they're about to be eaten?!_

Just as the beast lunged in for the bite, Lucy's whole body felt electrified, and the next thing she knew she was outside the cave at the edge of the clearing in Laxus's arms. She leaned back into him in relief. The Ranjishu showed up beside him a moment later faces scrunched in concern for her.

"What the hell, Cosplayer?" Bix asked. His babies had floated back to him happy to be reunited with him.

She gave him a small smile, "I relocated the wyvern's nest." They all blinked at her lost.

Evergreen was the first to break the silence, "How does that help us exactly? I mean we weren't doing well back there, but we still need to eliminate the wyvern."

Lucy shook her head, "The mission is to stop whatever is feeding on the town's livestock. Not to destroy the wyvern's nest. They shouldn't care how we do it." Now that Lucy said it, she wasn't so sure. The town had lost a lot to the wyverns. Hopefully, they would be okay with this solution.

Freed nodded seeing what she was getting at, "That is correct. However, what's to keep the wyvern from flying back to eat the livestock?"

She turned to Freed, "A new food source. There's a major Vulcan problem in this area. I took a job with Team Natsu here trying to clear them out. We did, but the job reappeared not much later. It seems Vulcans flock to this area for some reason."

They all looked at her shocked. Eventually Freed smiled at her, "I do believe you are correct, Lucy-sama. This should work."

Evergreen spoke up, "But what about the rest of the wyverns?"

Freed fielded this question, "They should relocate to the Beta. We will need to go back and release them from that cavern though." The group nodded and started to make their way back.

At this time, Lucy realized Laxus was still holding her. She turned a little red and started to move to get out of his arms, but his grip tightened. She looked up at him inquisitively.

"That was reckless. Dangerous. And downright brilliant." She was shocked, but started to smile at his compliment. "However, we don't do reckless on this team."

Evergreen turned around and smiled at her, "We work as a team here. No free for all like your team does."

Bix nodded, "I think you've picked up a few too many of Natsu's habits." Lucy gave a half smile at this comment realizing how much he really had rubbed off on her.

Freed added, "Your plan was solid, and although time was short trying to fill us in more would have been helpful."

She was shocked and ashamed. She wanted to prove herself to them so badly, that she hadn't realized how reckless her plan really was.

Laxus turned her to look at him, "Just 'cause they're fine with you coming back with new scars all the time doesn't mean we are. It reflects on the whole team when one is injured." She was going to protest that they didn't mean for her to get hurt all of the time, but Laxus shook his head at her. "If you guys worked as a unit, you would never come back to the guild the way you do."

She looked at the whole team, and they nodded to her. While they were reprimanding her, she could see they truly meant it out of concern for her. "That being said, that took guts. It got us out of a tight spot. Nice work, Blondie." Laxus finished with his lecture moved to put her down. She staggered a bit, but moved up to Evergreen who graciously offered her arm.

Evergreen started prodding at her newly formed bruises earning a squeak from her to which the totems responded, "Shit, shit, shit." Bix turned to Lucy raising an eyebrow which caused her to flush red with embarrassment. She started to splutter out an apology to which they all started laughing. Ever quickly came to her defense saying they learned much worse things from Bixlow.

Lucy cast a glance back to Laxus still processing everything he had said. She bit her lip slightly confused. Was it really their lack of team work that caused all of the damage on their missions? It did sort of make sense, especially the brawling and competitions between Gray, Erza, and Natsu, but her injuries, were due to her own weakness, not her teams. She couldn't blame it on them.

Laxus caught her glance and seen her eyes glaze over. He knew he'd given her something to think about. He'd meant everything he said. Team Natsu was comprised of all powerful mages her included. He originally had written her off, but now that he'd seen her in action he knew she was a part of the team for a reason. Bixlow had mentioned her large magical container and the amount of energy required for her type of holder magic, and now he could truly feel it himself. Her reserves were deep, and he wasn't even sure she knew their full depths. Her doubt and insecurities were causing her to limit herself.

He also was slightly upset with himself for allowing one of his team to get hurt. He now knew that her role on Team Natsu was to not only come up with the plan, but to get them out of all the sticky situations they got themselves into. It was why she was so quick to throw herself into danger on their mission. She was used to doing it for the sake of the team, the mission, and Fairy Tail's name. However, that wouldn't work for him. It just wasn't how the Thunder Legion operated.

Freed had fallen back to walk beside Laxus breaking him from his thoughts, "Care to voice the thought out loud?"

Laxus looked at him contemplating, "I was just thinking that Blondie could use some experience with a good team."

Freed nodded to him, "I was thinking the same thing. She'd be a great addition to the Thunder Legion, not to mention we could really help her grow as a mage." Laxus and him nodded to each other agreeing to discuss it with the rest of the team later. They sped up their pace to catch up to the bickering trio as they made their way back to the original wyverns nest.


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry for the late update! I've been gone all weekend at my sister-in-law's graduation. I'm excited about this chapter as it finally shows Lucy's pain, and how she's going to deal with it. I hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. _

**Chapter 8**

They had gotten to the town long after dark a day later and decided to handle everything in the morning. Lucy was especially thankful as she felt dead on her feet. She was also really feeling all of the aches and pains from the past few days. Evergreen had helped treat her as best she could, but seeing as most of it was just bruising there wasn't a lot she could do.

The next day they met with the mayor and after explaining the situation the mayor agreed on two terms. First, that Freed write a rune protecting the livestock in case the wyverns came back. Second, if the wyverns did come back they would come back and handle it free of charge. The team agreed to both as they wouldn't want to leave the job incomplete. As they were finishing up, Lucy who'd been quiet the whole meeting piped up, "You're also the town that sends out the Vulcan hunt request right?" The mayor nodded shocked she knew about that. "I was here a few weeks back with another team."

The mayor's face brightened in understanding and recognition, "Ah yes, with the noisy pink haired fellow correct?"

She nodded to him, "We relocated the wyverns deeper into the Vulcan territory, so you should be free of those pests as well."

The mayor looked slightly shocked, "I'll have to do some scouting, but if what you say is true then you shall also be paid for that mission as well!"

Lucy smiled putting on her best business face, "I'm just glad we were able to help. I hope it truly does stop your Vulcan problem. Please just keep us posted on the status."

He nodded to her as he walked them out, "I'm surprised you went back into Vulcan territory. If memory serves, you came back with your clothes scorched and a nasty gash."

Lucy shrugged, "That's just the life of a mage. Plus, I'm pretty durable." The mayor let out a small chuckle, but Lucy missed the look the Ranjishu had given each other.

Bixlow had sauntered up to her after the mayor had left, "That was pretty thrifty of you, Cosplayer."

She shrugged, "My father taught me how to deal with business, and I really didn't want to pass up on the reward money."

Bix started teasing her about being stingy and greedy to which she responded, "Hey, you try feeding Natsu and Happy all the time and see how your wallet looks. Not to mention all the repair costs after my team fights in my apartment and destroys everything. I need the jewel."

Evergreen cast an annoyed glance at Freed. She was almost to the point of asking Freed to put the runes up without Lucy's permission. Her team's behavior was truly ridiculous.

By midday, Freed was finished with the runes around the livestock, and the group had set out for Crocus. This left them needing to camp one night on their way back. Things were fairly peaceful, and the group went to bed early. Much like the previous nights, Lucy awoke early to do more research. She had just finished her book when Crux had appeared.

She moved away from their campsite not wanting to wake anyone up. "You find anything?" Lucy asked excited.

Crux nodded, "It seems that the key should reappear. What's odd is normally the original pieces fade when used to summon the Spirit King." Lucy looked down and held Aquarius's broken key in her hand.

"You mean, I'll completely lose her?" Lucy asked sinking to her knees. This key, even broken, meant the world to her. It reminded her of her mother being one of the keys she had passed down.

Crux continued on, "Normally, yes. However, your case is different for two reasons. The first, is you still have the key. It should have disappeared immediately. The fact that you still have it makes me believe that it shouldn't disappear. However, there is nothing to back that up. The second, is you can still access Aquarius's star dress form. This is attributed to your bond. Should her key end up with someone else, you would lose this ability."

"So, that means her key hasn't been reformed yet. Or at least, no one has found it."

Crux nodded, "I wish I had more, but for now this is all I have discovered."

Lucy thanked him, and he vanished back into the Celestial world. His talk left her with more questions than answers. Why did she still have they key? And why could she access the star dress? It didn't make sense. He claimed it was her bond, but she felt like it had to be more than that. Perhaps, having the pieces meant she could re-forge the key? She'd have to talk to Gajeel about this. She would definitely need his help if she was going to remake the key. Unfortunately, this did mean she was going to have to tell him what had happened. The thought made her slightly uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't a gossip. He'd protect her privacy. She was going to talk to Levy about all of this eventually anyway, so it really would work out.

She jotted down a few notes and put the books away. She knew now what she wanted to research when she got back to the library. She started her daily routine, and once again she didn't notice her audience. Unfortunately, this time they had heard a lot more than they had intended to. Bixlow and Laxus had both heard her conversation with Crux. They hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but they had gotten nervous when she'd moved away from the group. With this girl's ability to get kidnapped, they really didn't think her wondering around was that good of an idea.

They gave each other a wary glance as everyone stirred. They didn't know how to bring it up to her, and it didn't fully make sense. Something about a broken key and a spirit. How had she even managed to break a key? And what was that about the Spirit King? It was obviously something private, but they could sense her pain and frustration.

They made their way back to Crocus, and to no one's surprise, Lucy took off to the library. The Ranjishu let her be as they went off to dinner. They discussed Lucy joining the team which ended up being a short conversation as they were in unanimous agreement to add her to their ranks. Evergreen was thrilled to be adding another girl to the team. She loved the guys, but Lucy provided some much needed common sense to the boys idiocy.

Bixlow and Laxus also mentioned what they had overheard. Evergreen reprimanded them for eavesdropping, but she was also concerned about Lucy. They agreed for now to just watch over her, and let her work through it on her own. It was obvious she didn't want help, but should she finally request it they would be there.

They ended up staying in Crocus for another three days. They didn't see Lucy much of those three days either. Evergreen even admitted that Lucy was rarely in their room to sleep. On the third day, Yukino had stopped by looking for her. They said that she had been holed up in the library, and decided it was time to drag her out of there.

When they arrived though, they did not expect the scene they walked in on. There were papers everywhere and books stacked all over the room. She had a large map on the wall with various scribblings all over it. She was joined by three of her spirits, Loke, Capricorn, and Crux. They were all helping her search, and the room was filled with a fevered excitement. Lucy almost looked crazed when she turned to her spirits, "So, you think it could work?"

"All keys are formed by these cores. The Zodiac keys need this found in its purest form though," Crux said.

Capricorn nodded, "While it's never been done, if you find a core, combine it with your magic tied to Aquarius, and use the dragon slayers magic to re-forge the key. It is possible." Lucy nodded understanding that the dragon slayers would be a major key for this to work. The ties between Celestial magic and dragon slaying magic ran deep to the formation of the world. If utilized correctly and with the right elements, forming powerful magic items was possible. In her case, she was hoping to remake Aquarius's key.

All four of them thrummed with excitement. Her spirits all knew how much this meant to her, and it meant a great deal to all of them to see their master working so hard to reunite with her spirit. It showed how much she cared for them, and how much each bond truly meant to her. Loke also realized that this was why Aquarius's key was the one she had to use to summon the spirit king. Sure, he was close with Lucy and would serve her in any way she could, but he wasn't so sure that she would still be able to access his star-dress had his place been swapped with Aquarius. It was something he begrudgingly admired Aquarius for and hoped one day to have a bond that strong with her someday too.

"The only problem," Loke finally chimed in, "is finding the core."

Lucy slumped into her chair. "I have some leads." She pointed to the map, "But to check, all of these places could take years."

Loke moved over to the map, "Not to mention, these aren't the safest of places."

"I don't care!" Lucy yelled exasperated tears leaking from her eyes. "I'll do anything for her! It's my fault! I broke it! She can't ever be summoned again because of me!"

With that, Yukino stepped into the room. "What do you mean you broke it?"

Lucy jumped and turned. She was shocked to see everyone there, but even more surprised at the tone of Yukino's voice. Her voice was flat, but when you looked into her eyes you could almost see the rage underneath. Lucy started to stutter, but Yukino cut her off, "What do you mean you broke Aquarius's key?!"

She started to close the gap between them when Loke stepped in front of his master. "You don't understand…"

"Then explain," Yukino stated.

Lucy was sitting there in defeat. "It's alright Loke. I understand her rage. It's my fault the key is broken."

"But princess…" Loke whispered kneeling and holding her hands for comfort.

After a few moments, Lucy looked up eyes still dripping tears. "When we fought Tartarus, everyone was trapped in that spell. I was alone fighting off three of those demons. I summoned three spirits, Loke, Virgo, and finally Aquarius." Yukino sucked in a breath. Summoning three Zodiac keys was almost unheard of. Few celestial mages had ever done it in history. "Even with all three out, we still weren't winning. Aquarius told me how to summon the Spirit King. She helped me do it."

"You summoned the spirit king?!" Yukino yelled making the Thunder Legion jump. Freed was perplexed and in awe. He'd looked into Celestial magic, but had never once heard of the Spirit King being summoned. "How'd you get his key?"

"That's just it. He doesn't have a key…" Lucy mumbled and the tears came down in full. She squeezed Loke's hands, and he held her to him.

Capricorn stepped forward to finish, "To summon the Spirit King, one must have enough magical power to do so. After summoning three Zodiacs, it was clear Lucy does. The second thing needed is a Zodiac key where the bond between spirit and master is absolute. For Lucy, that key is, well was, Aquarius's."

"I'm confused, but how…?" Yukino started to question.

Capricorn cut her off, "The mage must channel all of their magic energy through the golden gate key, and call forth the Spirit King. Doing so, comes at a price. It shatters the key the mage uses do to the amount of magical energy utilized."

Yukino froze finally understanding what had happened.

"For all my talk of loving my spirits, I traded her. I traded her for Fairy Tail." Lucy spoke so vehemently about herself. No one had heard Lucy speak so harshly about anyone, and here she was hating herself. "I don't deserve to call myself a Celestial wizard." At this, her spirits froze and looked at her. "I'm going to reform her key, and then I'm going to give them all away."

It was the first any of them had heard of this, spirits included, but before they could even argue, Yukino had walked the room and smacked her across the face. "How dare you!" Lucy looked at her in shock. The normally happy shy girl was looking down on her with a pained, anger. "You scorn Aquarius sacrifice by saying that! This was only possible because of your bond! Because your spirits love you, and you love them. Now you want to throw it all away. You mock Aquarius, you mock your spirits, and you mock other Celestial wizards! You think your spirits want to be with anyone else! You taught me about that bond, and just the thought of even giving them away! Look at them! Look at them Lucy!"

Lucy pulled her eyes from the floor and met Loke, Capricorn, and Crux's eyes. Loke looked like he was going to cry, Capricorn's hands were fisted to the side, and Crux was wide awake eyes open in shock. With that a new round of tears started, "I don't deserve any of you! I don't know what else to do!"

Yukino walked up to her, returning to her gentle, soothing self, "You fight. You do what she taught you, and you fight. Bring her back and become an even stronger mage, so you never have to do that again." At this moment Yukino vowed, to not let Lucy give up, and she certainly would not accept any of her keys. Yukino owed Lucy a great debt back at the grand magic games when she had tried to quit being a Celestial mage. She was determined to help her friend who was wallowing in the same pain she was once in. She felt her own keys hum in agreement.

"We don't wish to serve anyone but you," Capricorn said coming up to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"This is the best contract I've had in a long time," Crux said. "No other master lets me sleep so much!" Lucy let out an exasperated giggle.

"You saved my life Lucy. I'd be gone if it weren't for you. I wish to serve no one but you," Loke said holding her tight. "So, please, don't give us away. We'll help you do anything, follow you anywhere, but please promise us to not give us away."

She looked them all in the eye, and felt her other keys humming in agreement. She took a deep breath and with all of her being she responded, "I promise."


	9. Chapter 9

_Good news and bad news. Good news is this is a long chapter. I have more fluff in it to lighten up from the seriousness of last chapter. Don't worry still plenty of good drama here. The bad news is we are about caught up which means my posting is going to get much slower after the next few days. I'll do my best for all of you though! Thank you for all of the comments and feedback. It really means the world to me! I hope you continue to enjoy it! Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. _

**Chapter 9**

After hugging Yukino and drying her eyes, she turned and realized the Thunder Legion was there for the first time. She turned red embarrassed at the sight they had just witnessed. Evergreen was the first to respond with an "Oh Lucy!" and ran up to give her a hug.

"Forgive me, Lucy-sama, I didn't realize what had happened," Freed said giving a small bow in apology.

Lucy turned to him, "It's okay Freed, no one knows."

"Not even your team?" Evergreen asked confused.

"Well, after Tartarus everyone left. Took time to themselves. Natsu left only a note. Erza and Gray just disappeared. Everyone had their own pain to deal with. Natsu had lost Igneel, Erza had been tortured, Gray lost his father. We all had our own pain to sort through, and everyone else felt it was best to do it on their own… Once we came back, there never seemed to be a good time. So, I just kept it to myself."

Bixlow shook his head finally understanding why her soul looked the way it did. "You shoulda made time. This isn't healthy." Lucy looked at him quizzically, but he tapped his mask. She realized he was talking about what his eyes could see, her soul.

"Your team should have noticed," Laxus finally spoke up. Before Lucy could argue, he continued on, "I don't care how well you hide it. They should know. They claim to be your best friends, but even in our year off we stayed together." The Ranjishu all looked at each other and nodded. "The point of a team is to help each other. Make each other stronger. Help when the others are hurting. I learned this the hard way. It's time you learned that as well." He looked at the others around him, "I believe now is as good a time as any."

The Ranjishu all moved back beside Laxus smiling. "Lucy-sama," Freed stated, "we'd like to formally invite you to join the Thunder Legion."

Lucy's mouth dropped open. Yukino giggled at her, and nudged her nodding. Yukino and Lucy had kept up during Fairy Tail's disbandment. Yukino had ranted to Rogue and Sting about how her team had just left her. She'd tried to convince Sting to bring her into Sabertooth, and while he had tried Lucy wouldn't budge. Yukino was selfishly hoping they could have all twelve Zodiac keys in Sabertooth. It would make them a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention, she hoped one of her closest friends would get with her boyfriend's best friend. I mean if Lucy could deal with Natsu, surely she could handle Sting. Yukino shook her head realizing how distracted she'd gotten.

Lucy was still trying to recover, when Laxus filled the silence, "Think on it. It's a big decision, but you could really learn a lot with us."

Bixlow chimed in, "Not to mention, you've been a great help on this mission. Can't wait to see what else ya can do."

"Plus, having another girl around would be great!" Evergreen said excitedly.

"I'll think about it, for sure," Lucy said smiling at them.

Yukino smiled at her, "Well, why don't you all come back to Sabertooth for some dinner. Rogue's probably wondering where we are anyway." Lucy looked at her quizzically. Yukino shrugged, "I said I'd be bringing you back to Sabertooth to hang tonight." When she turned to the Thunder Legion she added, "We have a pool and a hot tub that you will be free to use."

Bixlow and Evergreen smiled at that and said together, "Oh we're in!"

They arrived at the guild midafternoon, and were all jumping into the pool shortly after. Lucy and Evergreen joined after the boys sporting swimsuits from the Celestial world courtesy of Virgo. Evergreen made her way over to soak in the hot tub next to Minerva. They started up a light conversation about the recent shops Evergreen had been to and where else she should go in the future. Freed was chatting it up with Rufus as they ran through a variety of different topics making everyone shudder and scoot farther away. Laxus, Bix, and Orga were all chatting it up farther into the pool. Bix let out an appreciative whistle when Lucy caught his eye. Laxus hummed in agreement.

Lucy and Yukino were wading into the pool when they were pulled up short. "Fairy-san!" Lector and Frosch yell as they launch off the side of the pool at Lucy. She grabs onto them laughing almost falling over, but is kept upright by a chuckling Yukino. Lucy helps them into their floaties as the girls wade in to waist deep. She continues to back up until she runs into a hard muscular chest. She glances up to see Sting grinning down at her.

"Seems we have a lost Fairy here," Sting teases.

Lucy sticks her tongue out at him, "Oh shush, Kitty Cat, Yukino invited us."

Yukino had made her way over to Rogue smiling at him. He moved over protectively not liking that other people could see her dressed so scantily. Lucy and Yukino made eye contact for a second and started giggling. They had discussed Rogue's antics at length, and while they were officially dating he hadn't even brought up marking her. It was obvious he was going to, but it was driving Yukino crazy that he was waiting. Lucy slowly pushed Lector around the pool to which he purred excitedly. Sting followed them bringing Frosch to give the couple a little privacy.

"Is he ever gonna mark her?" Lucy asked Sting as quietly as she could.

Sting huffed not wanting to betray his friend, "Please. He'll do it when the time is right. 'Sides what do you know about it, girly? Last I checked you weren't a slayer."

Lucy chuckled, "You're right I'm not, but our guild has four dragon slayers and a demon slayer. Excuse me for knowing a little bit about it."

Sting sniffed at her, "You don't smell any different." He sniffed her again coming closer.

Lucy turned red and threw water on him to back him up. "Well of course not! I didn't say any of them marked me!"

"Good! So you're not taken?" Sting purred moving closer.

Lucy rolled her eyes at him turning her back to him to swim around, "Course not. You find someone who can deal with my team you let me know."

"You're team wouldn't be a problem if you'd just take me up on my offer," Sting said following her.

Yukino and Rogue had made their way over to them. Yukino smiled catching the end of the conversation, "Oh yes, Lucy! The offer does still stand! It'd be great! We could even get an apartment together!"

Lucy smiled at the idea. It was still tempting, but she shrugged to which Rogue added, "You could even join our team."

"We'd keep you much safer than Natsu does," Sting said purring into her ear again.

"C'mon guys. I can't leave Fairy Tail, they're my home!" Lucy protested.

"Sabertooth could just as easily become your home," Yukino pushed.

At this point, the trio had her back pedaling to get some space. She admitted that the offer was tempting. Living with Yukino would be far cheaper than her current place and learning with another celestial mage would be great for her magic. Not to mention, her little fling with Sting could maybe… She shook her head. No, she wouldn't change guilds because of a guy! This was her family she was talking about.

As she continued to swim backwards, she backed into a different hard sturdy chest. She glanced up this time to see Laxus peering down at her. He gave a hard glance to Sting that almost looked predatory, but Lucy assumed it was a trick of the light. Sting raised an eyebrow at him meeting his gaze. "What's this about Sabertooth being home, Cosplayer?" Bixlow asked curiously.

Lucy looked over at him, "They invited me to join when Fairy Tail disbanded. I didn't end up joining…"

"But, we were just letting he know the offer still stands," Yukino said cheerily.

Bixlow shook his head, "Nope. That won't work for us. 'Sides you already have a celestial wizard. Can't hog them all!" Rogue moved slightly closer to Yukino at Bixlow's antics.

Yukino pouted, but Sting jumped in again not taking his eyes off Laxus, "Team Natsu isn't any good for her. We could take her in and help her expand her magic. I'd help you personally." At this point, he'd reached out for her and met her eyes with a wink.

Lucy blushed and as Sting was about to drag her away Laxus's hands came down on her shoulders, "I couldn't agree with you more about Team Natsu. That's why Lucy's been asked to join the Thunder Legion."

That took Sting up short, and he glanced at the other Fairy Tail mages with her. "You're really gonna leave Natsu?"

Lucy blushed at the way he said it, "You make it sound like we're dating. Which were not! Besides, I haven't accepted the offer yet." She added a pointed glare up at Laxus who just smirked down at her.

Evergreen and Minerva having watched this whole thing started to snicker. "It looks like they're playing tug of war with her," Minerva said.

Ever laughed in agreement, "S'pose we should go save her."

They called for dinner in the guild, and Lucy heaved a sigh of relief when she escaped from between the two slayers. She quickly joined the girls at the side of the pool and moved inside willing herself not to glance back at the two slayers who were still having a stare off.

The next morning the group made their way to the train station to head home to Magnolia. The twin slayers, Yukino, and the exceeds went with them to see them off. Frosch was teary eyed and clinging to Lucy, and Lector was trying to put on a brave face for his friend. The whole thing made Lucy giggle as she promised to come visit soon. Yukino caught her in a hug whispering, "I'm thrilled Natsu's out of the picture 'cause both Sting and Laxus are a step up." Yukino pulled back with a wink just as the doors slid closed. The smirk on Sting's face said he definitely heard, and Lucy burned bright red.

She was still cooling down by the time she found everyone in their train compartment. Bix, Ever, and Freed sat on one side, and Laxus was leaning up against the window. No sooner had she sat down had Laxus shifted and plopped his head down in her lap. She squeaked the red climbing up her face again, but when he peered up at her as if to ask, 'Problem?' She shook her head and got her book out. The rest of the way to Magnolia she struggled to focus on her book between Ever and Bix making eyebrows at her, and Yukino's words getting stuck in her head. She brushed a hand over her keys which sobered her up quickly thinking back on everything she had learned. Her next major step would be to talk to Levy and Gajeel. It's time she told her bestie everything anyway.

Everyone split up to head home before returning to the guild. Lucy didn't take long tiding up her apartment as she was getting seriously antsy about the next step of her plan. It also did make her feel better knowing that she had told some people. She was going to need their support.

She summoned Plue, and the moment he appeared the little snowman-like dog ran up to and hugged her leg. Lucy bent down to comfort him to ease him, but he just clung to her tighter. She was confused until Loke appeared. "He's worried about losing you…" Lucy looked up at him to see the hurt in his eyes, "We all are…"

"Loke, don't start this…" Lucy began, but Loke was quick to cut her off.

"Then, when will we? After you've already decided to give us away? How could you do that? How could you say something so careless? We know you're hurting, but Lucy…"

Lucy looked at him darkly, "Say something careless? Seriously Loke? I never say things carelessly! My word is my bond! Or do you happen to think that I'm right, and I'm not meant to be a celestial wizard?"

Loke looked pissed, "You know that's not what I meant! You're just twisting my words!" Loke went to approach her, but looked down startled by the flash of white in the corner of his eye.

Lucy glanced down and her anger and self-loathing ebbed away at the sight of her little dog spirit pounding on her leg. He had small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. Lucy sank to the floor and hugged him close to her. After a few moments Loke joined them, "Oh Princess, your all any of us could ever hope for."

Tears stung at her eyes, "How? I sent one of you away! I chose Fairy Tail over her, over all of you…"

"That's not how we see it. And I know, that's not how she sees it," Loke whispered rubbing her head.

They stayed huddled together a little bit longer until eventually Lucy looked to him and said with the determination Loke loved, "I promised not to give any of you away, and I won't. But, I'm gonna promise one more thing. I'm gonna get Aquarius back. Whatever it takes." Loke nodded smiled and even Plue looked determined as he peered up from her lap.

"And, we will aid you in any way we can," Loke said. Plue shivered and hugged her in agreement.

Eventually, she got going, and Plue joined her for her walk along the river to the guild hall. When they arrived, he climbed up on her shoulder as if he were an exceed. She laughed at the thought of her little spirit having wings like Happy, Carla, and Lily. Unsurprisingly, the guild was as noisy as ever as she weaved her way through the brawl to the bar. Lucy winced as she vaulted over a tangled up Vijeeter glad his dancing made him flexible, otherwise he'd definitely be broken. The Ranjishu was at the bar with Cana and Mira chatting it up about their current mission. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the three smile at her conspiratorially. Bix's tongue lolled out of his mouth, but you could tell he was enjoying the conversation too.

"Oh Lucy perfect," Evergreen said grabbing her tight, "what was it that Yukino was saying about you and Sting?"

"Sting Eucliffe?" Mira squeeled in excitement.

"Damn girl, what is with you and dragon slayers?" Cana whistled in appreciation.

With a glare at Ever, who smiled innocently, she rebuked, "I don't just date slayers! There was that thing with Hibiki and then…" All three had tilted in when she backed up. "You know I think Natsu wanted to go on a mission…"

"Oh that's too bad, I had a letter here for you too," Mira smirks the inner demon showing.

Lucy reaches forward, but Cana yanks it back first, "Come on give us something to work with! You haven't been on a date in a year!"

"I'm a little busy right now," she said distractedly trying to grab the letter from Cana, Plue hanging on for dear life. "Oh, it's from Camron!" Lucy shouted catching the name as they flailed about.

At the sound of a male name, the other three froze which allowed Lucy to swipe the letter. She turned her back to them and started reading through the letter. She went rigid as Camron had come to the same conclusions as her! He to thought that if one obtained the Celestial core given the right factors a new key could be forged. She took a moment to breathe as she whispered, "I was right…"

"Care to share, Blondie?" Laxus asked hearing her whisper. To Mira, though, it sounded like Laxus was just being nosy, so she bopped him on the shoulder and scolded him. Lucy was transfixed, which really was too bad because she didn't notice the flaming chair that was coming at her. At the last moment, she pushed her arms up to protect her body, but that did nothing for the cinders and sparks shooting off. They burned part of her clothes, the floor, her hair, and most importantly the letter. She screamed trying to bat out the flames with her hands when Gray ran over, "Crap, Flame Brain! Here Lucy let me help." He immediately iced over the papers effectively stopping the flame in its tracks. However, she couldn't read anything, so this really wasn't much better.

"Yeah, nice going Icicle," Natsu sneered. Gray and Natsu argued back and forth over who would fix her stuff as Lucy sat next to her charred icicle in shock. As their bickering got louder, the guild hall seemed to tense as a scarlet haired mage made her way across the hall. She smashed the two of them together knocking them over. While it did stop the bickering, they unfortunately fell on top of the icey papers shattering them.

"Will you two be quiet? You need to apologize for disrespecting your guild hall!" Erza yelled at them. The two of them huddled together and mumbled their apologies which seemed to placate Erza. "Ah, Lucy good to see you've returned. Now that the four of us are together, we…"

"No." Lucy said shaking her head. Erza looked confused as she hadn't even asked anything, but Lucy was just shaking her head on the ground next to some shards of ice. She was going to try again when Lucy turned to Erza, "No. I will not be doing or going Mavis knows where with any of you."

Erza looked taken aback at this, and the glanced at the groveling boys realizing that they must have done something to upset her blonde haired friend, "You two have upset Lucy. You must apologize at once!"

Before they could say anything Lucy exploded, "I don't want to hear it! That was the best lead I've had in over a year! A freaking year! And here my supposed friends, have burned, frozen, and smashed it to bits. I will not be going anywhere with any of you. As of now, you can consider me off of Team Natsu."

The guild hall was quiet. They all knew of Angry Lucy, some had even met Scary Lucy in Edolas, but this was a different type of rage. Most people were just happy they weren't on the receiving end.

Natsu edged closer to her trying to reach out, "Luce, I'm sorry, whatever this is, we'll fix it. I…"

Lucy cut him off, "No, you won't. I'll repair the damage you've done like always, but from now on, I'll do it alone."

"But what about your rent?" Gray chipped in going for a different angle.

Lucy shook her head she didn't care she'd figure it out. Mira took this moment to clear her throat, "Actually, Lucy. This came in yesterday. I already gave Laxus and the others their share, but this is for the extra mission you completed." Lucy snagged the envelope and glanced inside. There was more than enough for the next month including the extra expenses she might have, not to mention she just got paid for the last mission.

"I'll make it work. Besides, I'm quite capable of going on a job ALONE," Lucy said eyeing the three mages threatening them to doubt her.

Not reading the mood, Natsu decided to push it. "C'mon Lucy, the high paying jobs are team jobs. 'Sides paying your rent off won't be easy with the kind of jobs you'll have to take solo."

Lucy froze and fixed a stare, _Don't say it, Natsu, Don't say it._ "I'm more than capable, Natsu."

"Well sure you're capable, but you're not as strong as the rest of us. You need us," Natsu said gesturing to Erza and Gray.

Lucy snapped. She couldn't stand to hear him talk down to her like that. After everything they had done and been through together, he still saw her as some girl to be shielded. Her power unleashed, and in a flash, Virgo, Loke, and Capricorn appeared out of their gates.

Having heard everything Loke was ticked, "Lucy doesn't need any of you."

"We are quite capable of protecting, Princess," Virgo added.

"Besides," Capricorn added, "We can fight with Lucy WITHOUT burning, bruising, freezing, or harming her."

Lucy turned and her three spirits followed her out of the guild.


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry, for the later update. I had a busy week. This chapter also means that you guys are all caught up to what I have written. I have a good idea of where I want this story to go, but I'm still working out some of the details. I hope you all enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Chapter 10**

Lucy stormed away from the guild mumbling under her breath, her three spirits following behind her. "Damn Bunny Girl, didn't know ya had such a fowl mouth," a gravelly voice said. She turned to find Gajeel and Levy staring at her in concern.

She took a breath and forced a smile, but Levy waved her hand at her, "Stop, no need for that with us."

Lily nodded to her flying up to Levy's shoulder, "You can always be straight with us, Lucy."

Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples as the tension of the last few days started to build. "We'll take our leave, Princess, so you can talk," Virgo whispered to her. Lucy nodded at her spirits as they vanished in a puff of golden smoke.

Levy walked up to her, looped their arms together, and turned them all towards Gajeel's place. Levy filled the air with chatter about their recent mission seeing that Lucy needed time to collect herself. She'd seen the stress her friend was going through lately, but she was waiting for Lucy to open up to her. She didn't want to push or pry, but perhaps she had been wrong to wait. It was clear Lucy was reaching a breaking point.

While Gajeel followed the duo, he sized Lucy up in a very different way. He could feel her magic power had grown, and he hadn't known her to ever have three spirits out like that. He also found that she smelled less like Flame Brain and more like Laxus and his crew which intrigued him ever so slightly.

When they finally arrived at Gajeel's place, which was always tidier than one might expect, Levy got some tea ready as they all settled in. They both watched her expectantly, and finally very slowly Lucy lifted her key ring and placed what was left of Aquarius's key on the table. Gajeel raised an eyebrow, and Levy gasped holding her hands to her mouth. She was very familiar with Lucy's magic and knew her best friend's keys by heart because they were so important to her.

"It happened during Tartaros. When everyone was trapped. I summoned the Spirit King. It- it came at a price," Lucy stuttered out. Tears were fully streaming by the end of her brief explanation.

Levy, feeling her friend's pain, ran to her and hugged her tight. Both girls held each other as they cried. Gajeel had eyed the key, held it, and sniffed it. He was analyzing the metal the key was made of, and he was stumped. He'd never seen this metal before. He could tell at its base what the metal was, but he could somehow sense how different the keys' material truly was. It was almost as if there was something binding the metal together. He was also curious as to why he could still feel this unknown element. If the key was truly broken, shouldn't all of the energy be gone?

Levy felt horrible knowing how much pain her friend had been in when everyone had split apart for the year. Natsu left with only a note, and while they had offered, Lucy had turned them down. They hadn't even kept in contact as Levy's work with the council took her far from Crocus where she knew her friend was writing. She didn't miss a single article she wrote, but now she realized that this was no excuse. She also knew that Lucy had kept tabs on her and everyone else while they were apart. What was worse, is now that they were back together, Lucy was still suffering. But Levy promised herself that she would do better, starting now. "What can we do?" She whispered.

Lucy gave her a small, relieved smile. She filled them in on the missions she'd been on over the last couple weeks and what she'd learned. They listened intently, Gajeel's eyes furrowing when Lucy discussed the concept of re-forging the key, and Levy's eyes glazed over as she receded into the brain of hers playing out all of the possibilities.

"Look Bunny Girl, I'll do what I can, but this isn't normal metal," Gajeel held up the key again. "I can't just use anything to make this. The amount of magic were talking about here will destroy almost everything that is normally used."

Lucy nodded to him, "That's why we have to find the core. I believe that will provide us with the materials to make the key."

"While that may be true, we don't know what the core is…" Levy said coming back to reality. "It may just be one piece."

Lucy nodded to her, "It's a long shot I know. I'm talking about doing something that's never been done, but I have to try. I have to, for her. For my right to stay a celestial mage."

Levy and Gajeel glanced at each other picking up the seriousness of this mission. They could tell Lucy meant every word of what she said. If they failed, it could mean the end of Fairy Tail's light. Gajeel saw the worry race through Levy's eyes, and he shrugged looking at them both, "It may not have been done before, but I've never heard of someone summoning the Celestial King before either."

Lily nodded at them both picking up on Gajeel's line of thought, "Besides, Fairy Tail is known for making anything possible."

Lucy stayed the night with them as they discussed ideas and went over all of Lucy's notes. They fell asleep at the crack of dawn only to get up a few hours later to head back to the guild. She had finally told them that morning about her blow up with Team Natsu, and they had agreed that the next plan of action was to find out what Camden had sent in that letter.

Lucy had headed off to the bar to talk to Mira as Gajeel and Levy made their way to the guild library. Gajeel caught Lucy giving Gray the cold shoulder as he went to speak to her. He shook his head not caring for the drama. Levy put her hand on his arm seeing this as well, "I know. It's too bad they're all fighting."

Gajeel shrugged, "Nah. They had it coming. Bunny Girl's put up wit' it way too long. Just bad timing." Levy looked up at him confused. "Just a feelin' that were gonna need Natsu by the time this is said and done."

Gray was sitting close to the bar when he saw Lucy come in with Gajeel and Levy. He was thrilled that he got to see her this morning. He was hoping to explain himself and apologize without the others being here. He knows that he overdid it, but she seemed overly harsh on them. I mean it's nothing they hadn't done before? However, reality set in as Lucy looked directly past him refusing to even acknowledge his existence. He tried to listen in to her conversation with Mira, but to no avail. He wasn't a dragon slayer, and he cursed himself for being envious of Natsu.

Mira nodded at Lucy's request getting to work right away. She contacted both Lucy's previous client and also the mailing company to see if she could get a return address. She figured she'd have a response by the end of the day, but when she saw Lucy fidgeting she added, "Evergreen's upstairs already."

Lucy looked at her relieved and bolted for the stairs without a second glance. She could feel Gray's eyes on her wanting to talk, but she needed this to sink in with them. Besides, she wasn't going to forgive them until she'd rectified what they'd done. Perhaps she was too forgiving which is why this crap had gone on so long. She loved them all, but they had to learn when something was truly too far and where to draw the line.

She found Evergreen at the table with a sleepy Bixlow and a reading Freed. She sat down next to them meekly realizing how her actions probably looked to them. She was about to speak up when Evergreen held up a hand, "Do not apologize. That was a long time coming."

Bixlow nodded at her, "You're a saint for dealing with them as long as you have." 'Saint, saint, saint,' his totems chanted. She smiled at them all and pulled out her stack of notes to go through it for the millionth time to see if she could find anything she may have overlooked.

Freed put down his book as Laxus came over to join them a while later. At this point, most of the guild had arrived including Natsu and Erza. Erza seemed to pick up on the mood from Gray, and they kept Natsu away from Lucy.

Lucy finally looked up from her papers to find the Ranjishu staring at her. "What? Is there something on my face? I slept at Gajeel's, so I haven't gone home yet…" Lucy rambled on fussing with her hair and wrinkly clothes.

Laxus raised an eyebrow as Bix's tongue lolled out, "Sleeping at Gajeel's house huh?"

Lucy turned slightly red, "With Levy!" As Bix's smile got even larger, she quickly added, "God Bix not like that!"

Bixlow shrugged leaning back with a wink, "It's fine, Cosplayer. Don't have to explain what trips your trigger."

Lucy threw her pencil at him, while Evergreen hit him with her fan which set the whole group into giggles. Finally, Laxus cleared his throat, "So what's it gonna be Blondie?"

Lucy glared at the nickname, "So what's what gonna be Sparky?"

Laxus raised his eyebrows at her as his lips twitched at a smile, "Our proposition."

Lucy looked at all of them contemplating. "There's just the issue of my… research. I have to keep working on this…" She said it as she brushed one hand over her keys, and the other pointed at her stack of papers. "I'm not sure now is a good time because I'm going to be taking off to find more information, and to locate what I need."

"Do you really plan to do that by yourself?" Laxus asked her. The look she gave him was downright determined, and he was impressed.

Evergreen smiled at the two of them, happy the others felt the same way as her. "What kind of friends would we be, if we let you do this alone?" Lucy turned to her shocked. She didn't want to impose her problems onto them.

Bixlow jumped in too, "You've helped all of us. Time to return the favor." He was thinking specifically of how far they'd come since Fantasia. He'd fought Lucy himself, and after she'd been more than willing to let it go no strings attached. Even more so, she had sought him out on occasion to discuss their magics which normally freaked people out. They'd even tried training together, and while that didn't pan out thanks to her annoying team, he was more than willing to go the extra mile for her.

"So what'll it be, Lucy-sama?" Freed asked, "Will you officially join the Ranjishu?"

She was going to respond when she heard a loud crash from downstairs. They all looked over to see Natsu had thrown over his chair and table in his haste to get up. She could see the steam rolling off of him. He looked up at her in pain and confusion, and he glared at those beside her. "Why Luce?" Natsu finally asked. "I know your mad, but to join them? Seriously?" Gray and Erza looked between Natsu and Lucy in pain and confusion. When Lucy didn't respond right away, Natsu's anger flared, and he jumped at Laxus. Laxus didn't hesitate to launch a lightning bolt at Natsu shooting him down to the first floor. He staggered up eyes still set on Laxus and whispered, "You're not taking Luce away."

Laxus scoffed hearing him with his dragon ears, "We're not taking her away. You pushed her away." Natsu growled at him ready to charge again, but before he could he found his way blocked by another body. He blinked and found Lucy had jumped down from the second floor to block his way.

"That's enough," Lucy said matter-of-factly. "This isn't your choice. It's mine. A lot like the one you made when you left for a year with only a note to say goodbye. It's my turn for space." She eyed Gray and Erza as well, both of whom had taken off as well without a word. They looked down in shame. They hadn't realized what leaving had done to Lucy, and now they were paying the price. Natsu was shocked into silence.

Before he could recover, Lucy's attention was diverted off to the bar where Mira was handing an envelope to Levy. Levy turned to Lucy and nodded confirming that they had what they needed. She turned to leave the Ranjishu having joined her on the main floor, but Natsu grabbed her, "Please Luce, we're partners."

For half a moment, Lucy paused. He wasn't wrong. Even with everything that happened, her partnership, her friendship with Natsu meant everything to her. However, right now, she had to do this. "I'm sorry Natsu. But," she swallowed, firming her resolve, "but I have to do this." With that, Levy, Gajeel, Lily, Laxus, and the Ranjishu followed her out of the guild.


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm honestly surprised how quickly this chapter came together, but it was a lot of fun to write. I've always wanted to try my hand at writing this concept/idea (trying not to spoil anything), and I'm thrilled that it fit so well into this story. Please let me know what you think! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail._

**Chapter 11**

After running home to gather their things, the group reconvened at the train station. Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, and they were piling into their seats. Lucy slid in first taking up her position by the window gazing out. She'd been fairly quiet, and everyone was giving her some space. They all knew the fight with Natsu and her team was weighing on her, and she needed some time to sort it out. However, this didn't stop Laxus from plopping down next to her and using her as a pillow. She didn't object keeping her silent reverie focused on the window, and idly started rubbing her fingers through his hair. The Ranjishu took up the seats across from them, and Levy, Lily, and Gajeel filled up the seats across the aisle. Gajeel leaned into Levy trying to make it seem casual, but the train affected him much like it did the other dragon slayers. The three of them did share a surprised glance at Laxus and Lucy's behavior and how they seemed so comfortable with one another.

Before long, they were arriving at a small town where the letter was addressed from. The directions from Lady Christine said to follow the main road out of town for a couple miles, and they would find Camron's place. The group kept idle chatter to fill the silence, but Lucy was wound tight, nervous about what they were going to learn.

As they approached a two story house with old fashioned architecture and landscaping that was in desperate need of some work, Lucy slowed dropping behind the group. Laxus could practically smell her anxiety and slowed down to join her. She was basically stopped when Laxus said, "Won't ease any of your pain by just standing here." She gulped and looked up at him. Her dark brown eyes were shining, swimming with emotion. For a moment, Laxus was transfixed, and he found his hand twitching to reach out to her. Instead, he just said, "Whatever, we find out. We will figure it out. Together."

Lucy looked up and nodded at him, her eyes stealing over with determination. She walked past everyone and rang the doorbell. For a moment, there was nothing. Then came a loud crash from behind the door. Lucy cast a worried glanced at everyone. Gajeel just shrugged pushing past her and kicked the door down. The whole group braced for a fight searching for the source of the sound, but they were all brought up short by what they found. Mountains of books were everywhere. The entire house was lined with bookshelves, but as many of those were extremely over packed, the books had started to accumulate on the floor into piles. They glanced into the side rooms only to find more of the same. There were desks covered in papers and scrolls, but all were too cluttered to actually be usable. Despite the fact it was extremely over packed, Freed and Levy found it was still extremely organized. Each pile was sorted by topic and then by author. The stacks of similar topics were closer together, and the organization was extremely methodical. Freed and Levy were practically drooling, and it took Gajeel and Evergreen to focus the pair.

Lucy and Laxus had wandered back into the farthest room which was oval and reached to the peak of the house. The whole room matched the rest of the house, but with one exception. A wiry man with large circular glasses and hair standing on end was extracting himself from a mountain of books that had fallen over on top of him. Lucy rushed forward to help him up. The man was bent holding his back mumbling about his old bones. Just as Lucy reached him to give him a hand, he threw himself backwards nearly crashing his head into Lucy's face and bent over backwards. There were several loud pops that had Laxus wincing. The man let out a slow breath and eased back to a regular upright position with a satisfied smile, "Ahhh much better, now…"

Lucy recovered quickly holding out her hand, "Sorry, we just barged in. We heard a crash and…" The man waved her off going to peruse the pile of books that had fallen onto him. He immediately set to getting them back upright and in order. Lucy gave Laxus a look. He shrugged, so she tried again, "My name is Lu-"

"Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of the late Layla and Jude Heartfilia. Member of Fiore's Fairy Tail Guild. Magic type: Celestial. Your companion is the lightning dragon slayer, second generation, Laxus Dreyar son of Ivan Dreyar, grandson of Makarov Dreyar the current master of Fairy Tail. He's the head of the Ranjishu who are also known as the Thunder God Tribe who I predict are also wandering around my house somewhere," the man said his back still to them as he heaved the pile of books back into formation. After smiling at his work, he turned to them. "Sorry, Chrissy said you'd be coming, not that I wouldn't know who you are from the looks of ya." He meandered over to a desk which was surprisingly spacious compared to the rest of the house. It had only two stacks of books and several stacks of papers strewn across it. "Oh right, I'm Camron which I'd hoped you'd figured out already. I'm slightly confused as to why you're here though. Everything you should need was in that letter."

Lucy blushed slightly ashamed, "The letter was destroyed before I could read it all. I was hoping you could fill me in on what the rest of it said."

"Hmm shame," Camron said, but shrugged, "I guess Fairy Tail's destructiveness isn't legendary for nothing."

At that, Lucy turned even redder knowing her team, or ex-team, was the cause of most of it. There was a pang of grief at the thought of it being her ex-team, but she shoved it away. She had to focus. "I had done quite a bit of my own research at the library in Crocus, and I think we were coming to the same conclusions."

"Obtain a core, forge a key." Camron said nodding at her excited. He loved rare magics and new concepts pertaining to magic. This was all a theory, but for two separate people to reach it was exciting, especially when one of them was a competent practitioner of said rare magic. Laxus scoffed as if to say, 'Oh is that all?' which earned a glare from the other two, so he took a step back giving them space.

"I was hoping you could elaborate a bit," Lucy started. "I've got the basic idea down, but I don't really even know what the core is."

Camron smiled at her happy to share his knowledge. He frantically flipped through the largest and oldest tome on his desk, "This book is old folklore pertaining to the start of the world. Many believe it to be myths and legends, but if you look at them you can see there is quite a bit of truth in it." As he flipped through, there were giant winged creature spouting fire, water, and many other different elements. Lucy smiled down realizing that he was right. If dragons were in this book, other aspects could be true. He flipped forward a few more pages and found an extremely intricate drawing. Camron turned the page towards her seeing what she made of it.

In the top left, Lucy saw what appeared to be an artist's rendition of the sun and the earth. Surrounding and almost coming from the earth were the dragons. One larger dragon seemed to almost be the sun itself towering above all of the creation. Next to this fading into a darker, but still captivating portion in the upper right she saw what looked like the moon and the stars. In the middle stood a large figure with a star on his forehead and a long beard reaching about half way down his body. Behind him she could almost make out several of the major constellations. The top half made her happy and filled her with joy. Lucy couldn't explain it, but as she followed the drawing down to the lower parts she found the gentle calm of night fading to a dark foreboding of shadows and darkness. It felt like the moment that Hades had shown them the Abyss of Magic back on Tenrou. There were dark creatures and red eyes that seemed to stare into her soul causing Lucy to shiver slightly.

After looking back to Camron he nodded in understanding her emotions to the drawing. "It comes with a story, one of the oldest stories of the creation of our world. In the beginning, there were three realms. Each kept to themselves. The first was the dragons. With their many different elements, they created the land, the seas, and the living world all of which was overseen by the Great Dragon. The second was the heavens, the stars, the moons, and all of the supreme beings ruled by one, the Celestial King. The final realm was the land of demons and darkness. The creatures that destroy and eat away at all living things resided there shying away from the light of the Celestial King and the power of the Great Dragon." Camron pointed to the drawing as he explained each of the three realms.

"While the dragons and the celestials got along and even occasionally interacted, the demon realm was never allowed in. Eventually, this created conflict and war broke out among the different nations. Over many thousands of years, the dragons and the celestials were able to force the demons back into darkness with the help of the creatures they had nurtured which we now know as humans. It was decided that the humans would reside in the realm the dragons had created naming it Earthland. After using all of their great power, the Celestial King and the Great Dragon fell into a deep slumber to allow them to recover the power they had utilized during the war. For many years, the humans and dragons resided together peacefully, with the dragons overseeing the humans keeping the peace. However, the humans' lifespan was much shorter than the celestials and the dragons, and they found themselves forgetting their origins as warriors and protectors of the lands and wished to own the lands for themselves tired of being ruled by the dragons. They eventually turned on and fought the dragons. The dragons in turn became angry and started wiping them out in mass. The celestials did not agree with this as they were still highly revered by the humans and even thought of as gods. Many of the celestials fell from the heavens to come to the humans' aide forsaking their duties as protectors of the heavens and fought against the dragons."

"Watching these wars from the shadows, the demons waited patiently stirring the pot, but never fully coming out of their haven. The barrier the Celestial King and Great Dragon had created limited their power, but as more celestials left their posts and more dragons died in the fighting the barrier weakened. Over time, the barrier finally fell, and the demons descended upon Earthland. They turned the wars into chaos, and the groups were all fractured more. Some celestials ended up joining the demons in the conquering of humans, while others joined the dragons. The humans were used as tools as the deities fought for power."

"Finally awakening from the slumber, the Spirit King and the Great Dragon wept to see what had become of their great nations. The called together their most loyal supporters to help them end the pain and suffering. Together, with his thirteen generals the Spirit King rid the world of the fallen stars and pulled their names out of the skies never to be seen or heard from again. No celestials were left remaining in Earthland. The Great Dragon with his five generals eased the conflicts between humans and dragons wiping any dragons out who refused the Great Dragon's word."

"Then together, the Spirit King and the Great Dragon pushed back as one against the demons forcing them back into their realm of darkness. After all the fighting was completed, both sides took time to mourn all those that were lost as many were friends and family, and while the generals never regretted serving their kings the price was killing those they once had held dear. The Great Dragon and Spirit King created new rules and boundaries to ensure this wouldn't happen again. The dragons decided to dwell with humans once more to teach magic to those they found worthy to fight and keep the peace. They became known as the Dragon Warriors. After completing their missions, the dragons would rest while observing the course of the world only to interfere by choosing new humans to take over the mantle of Dragon Warrior. Seeing that this was good, the Great Dragon receded back to his place of rest to continually shed his power and energy over the world ensuring it continued to prosper. While the dragons stayed, the celestials returned to their realm and watched over their dragon friends and humans from the skies all the while using their celestial light to keep back the waves of darkness that still tried to creep back into Earthland. They helped their dragon friends in their mission by creating bonds with the humans to protect the light and help them fight the darkness that managed to seep in. Those that they chose would battle by the Dragon Warriors serving to guide and help them keep darkness at bay. Unlike the Dragon King, the Celestial King chose to take a more active role ashamed that some of his own celestials had joined the demons and chose to watch over the contracts of the celestials ensuring that no celestials harmed humans again."

Camron finished and looked at the group before him. During his story, the others had joined them. Everyone stayed quiet absorbing the information. After a few moments, Camron continued, "I believe this story holds many clues for you, Miss Lucy."

Lucy looked at him shocked still not sure what to say, so Laxus pipes up, "You mean to say a myth is going to help us?" He was skeptical.

Camron smiles ready to prove his point, "A myth that already explains many other things."

Laxus raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Levy jumps in first, "How do we know which myth to use then? I've read many very similar to that."

Camron nods to her excited for another avid reader to have joined them. "The exact story may differ, but there are a few details that are the same in all of them. First, there are five dragon generals. Two, there are thirteen celestial generals. Three, the Dragon King continues to shed his power and energy to Earthland." He looked at Lucy excited as understanding crossed her face.

"The thirteen generals wouldn't happen to be the twelve Zodiacs and the black thirteenth key?" Lucy stated more than asked. Camron nodded.

Freed spoke up next, "The five dragon generals would be fire and sky…" He drew a blank on what the other three would be.

Camron nodded, "The illustration gives us more clues. He points to the beams of light over the earth: light magic. He points to the parts the light couldn't reach: shadow magic. Rulers of the day and of the night always diligent to keep the demons at bay."

"Then the fifth dragon..." Levy started.

Gajeel cut her off, "The dragon of metal." Everyone looked at him skeptically not being a base element, but he spoke up before they could protest. "In some of the stories, one of the generals teaches the humans to fight not with magic, but with weapons or _metal_." Everyone looked at him skeptically, "What?" He shrugs, "I read." Levy smiles up at him proudly, but he just folds his arms and acts disinterested again.

Camron nods at him nearly giddy with excitement. "I'd come to much the same conclusion as you. It also explains how humans were able to advance so quickly with infrastructure and technology."

Lucy spoke up finally, "So the stories have these common elements. But how does that help me specifically? With the core and Aquarius's key? And you still haven't told me what the core is."

"Ah, yes. So, the last part is the Dragon King's essence that spreads across Earthland. While some think this is why Earthland has an endless amount of magical energy, unlike other realms or lands,"

"Oh, like Edolas!" Lucy exclaims fitting the pieces together cutting off all of Camron's thought.

Camron's eyes bug out, "You mean you've heard of Edolas?"

"Heard of it? I've been there," Lucy said and Gajeel nodded in agreement.

Lily pipped up, "I'm originally from Edolas."

Camron starts to freak out scrambling for a pen and paper, "Oh my gosh! I need to take notes. First person accounts are so rare!" Laxus clears his throat to which Camron straightens up his eyes still hungry for new information, "Of course, after we finish here. Anyway, along with the endless supply of magic, my research has led me to believe that this energy also comes down in a tangible form during specific celestial events. Due to the close relationship between the two kings, I believe this is them combining their power and gifting it to the humans they deem worthy. However, only two have ever been found and both are tied to and hidden by major historical events."

"So it's basically just a ball of power?" Bixlow asks. "Won't that be huge?"

Camron shakes his head. "I don't believe it's large or at least it doesn't have to be. There was one civilization that thrived for many decades while utilizing a core embedded into the blade of his sword. I believe his sword was called Excalibur. After the hero's death, the blade went missing fabled to return again at the rise of a new king. In reality, I believe the hero used the blade and the core to perform extraordinary feats and eventually used up all of the power. A new core appearing is what the people were truly waiting for."

"So it can run out of energy then?" Evergreen asked disheartened.

"Oh yes. The two kings wouldn't be foolish enough to give us an unlimited power source. We were a major part of the problem during the wars," Camron said.

"So if the sword is one of the two major events. What's the other?" Freed asked.

"Have any of you heard of the Saigonoshinpan?" Camron asked. Levy, Lucy, and Freed all paled having come across it in their readings.

Bixlow spoke up, "Okay braniacs, share with the rest of us please."

Levy started it off, "It literally translates to Doomsday in the old languages."

Freed went on, "It is the name of a string of the most catastrophic natural disasters to ever hit Earthland."

Lucy finished off their brief explanation, "These disasters reshaped Earthland tearing entire continents apart, submerging others, and leaving others as ruined fragments of what they were before."

"And all of these events can be tied to one epicenter that geologists discovered a decade ago where a civilization was known to preside that had power rumored to be much like that which would be granted by a core. It's safe to say whatever they used or were using the core for had catastrophic consequences. So before we go any further, Lucy, I have a question for you." Camron turned to her, eyes serious meeting her gaze, "Is seeking the core truly something worth risking all of Earthland for?"


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I took a small hiatus from writing and then started to work on my actual book and other stories. I haven't forgot about this story I just run into freezes with my writing. Everything I do runs in fads, but I'm still sorry to keep you waiting. I always get frustrated when authors do that to me when I'm the reader. I just want you to know your favorites and comments do help with the inspiration. I really appreciate all of you for continuing to read! Thanks again! As always... Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashimas.

**Chapter 12**

Lucy sat alone staring up at the stars on the grassy hill behind Camron's house. She sighed for the umpteenth time and leaned back into Loki who had joined her on sigh number three. She found herself to be a very logical person, and that very logic told her that there was no way she could follow through with her plan. She frowned when that logic in itself meant she no longer could be a celestial mage because she had broken her promise to her spirits and herself.

The thought crushed her heart which protested profusely saying that as a mage she has to pursue this. She risked everything for the mages of Fairy Tail, and now it was only right to risk everything for Aquarius. Her mind of course jumps in saying how incredibly selfish that is. That risking one key for Fairy Tail doesn't even remotely compare to risking the world to regain said key.

"Ughhh…" Lucy groans out resting her forehead on her knees. She'd been going in circles like this for hours and honestly wasn't getting anywhere. The two options seemed to create a choice she could never make: to give up on Aquarius or give up on being a mage.

Loki having been quiet this whole time finally spoke up, "You aren't going to stop being a mage. That's not an option."

Both of them having already had this argument caused her to bite off her reply. However, what did draw her up short was the voice that came from a few steps behind her, "Why'd you stop being a mage?" It was Laxus who startled her out of her thoughts. He was frowning down at her.

Loki glared at her, but got up and looked to Laxus, "Maybe you can talk some sense into her." Laxus took a moment to really look at Loki before he disappeared in a shimmer of gold. No, he never had been close to the obnoxious play boy. He had always seen him as inferior and never bothered to waste time on him. His actions with women didn't bother him because Laxus wasn't a whole lot different just didn't flaunt his conquests quite as much as Loki had. He now seen, however, his dedication and commitment to Lucy, and he did have power. Power he hadn't noticed before. He wasn't sure he could attribute that to Loki, however, it might have something to do with the distressed mage in front of him. More proof that connections and relationships to one another truly did make us stronger.

He shakes his head to clear himself from his reminiscent thoughts and gives his full attention to Lucy. She had turned back away from him not answering his question. He sits down next to her, "Well?" He asks again.

She didn't answer him for so long that he honestly thought she was going to ignore him, but when he was going to push her further she finally started. "As a celestial mage, the promises we make are integral to our power. The more promises you keep the stronger you become. It's why people take me for more word so seriously. I don't go back on my word." Laxus nods not realizing exactly how her magic worked. He used to always think of holder mages as weak, so he had never looked into their abilities. Lucy had shattered that impression when she'd defeated Bixlow in the Fantasia incident. She had backed up her strength countless times later. Lucy continued on after a moments rest, "It's more than that though. The more heart behind a promise. The more power one gets for keeping it, and the more power lost when breaking it."

Laxus nods understanding, "So basically a bunch of random promises won't do as much for you as a mage as an important promise like me promising to get you dinner after this is all over."

Lucy looks over at him shocked, but gives him a small nod. His face was serious, and his statement implied he was serious but she couldn't be sure. If her heart wasn't in so much turmoil she would have blushed. Laxus was hitting on her! She thought, maybe.

"And this has what to do with you quitting mage work?" Laxus asks again still slightly confused.

She sighed again all previous school girl thoughts gone, "I made a promise to my spirits and to myself that I would get Aquarius back. To break a promise that serious, I would lose all control of my magic…" She thinks for a moment more, "If I even had any left. It could mean anything from my spirits running rampant to me not being able to open their gates."

Laxus nodded remembering all of the problems that occurred after the Eclipse gate fiasco. While he was not a part of the direct recovery team, the Ranjishu dealt with the weather phenomenon that were caused by the world being thrown off balance. "Avoiding another eclipse situation should be reason enough to pursue this…"

She looks at him shocked, "I could avoid that. I would give the keys to someone I trust, but with so few of us left, that really only leaves Yukino." Laxus remembered her from the Grand Magic Games and nodded. She didn't have the magical pressure that Lucy had, so he wasn't convinced that would work as well as she thought.

"Fine, you give your keys away. Then what? Work at the bar like Mira does?" Laxus asks.

She thought for a moment disheartened, but realized he was just thinking the whole thing through. She was hoping Laxus would come out here and tell her what to do, but she was sad to say he wasn't doing that. "I might for a while, but inevitably I'd have to leave. I don't think I could stay if I wasn't still a mage."

"So, what would you do?" Laxus prods her further.

"I'd work on my writing. Go back to reporting for Scorer's Weekly. Work on my novel," she decided finally although she herself remembered how a piece for her felt missing then.

Laxus gets up brushing the dirt off of him, "Sounds like you've got it all figured out then."

As he moves to step away Lucy jumps up yelling, "What?! Seriously?! That's all you have to say?" Laxus shrugs at her, but before he can say anything she continues on angrily, "You really think I'm so weak as to just give up? One hiccup, and I'm done. My resolve, no my magic is really so weak that I wouldn't even try?!"

Laxus turns back to her and looks down at her, him being several inches taller, "Why are you acting like you've already failed then? Why all the plans like you've already lost your magic?"

"But you asked…?" Lucy started, but he cuts her off again.

"Aren't you a mage of Fairy Tail? Since when does Fairy Tail let anything get in their way? We go against the council. We go against other guilds. We fought against Acnologia and survived!" His pride in his own guild was immense. He's always been proud of his guild. That misplaced pride caused his past mistakes, but after everything that pride had been reshaped into something much stronger.

Lucy fired back never being the calmest when yelled at, "Of course I am! And I was there! I want more than anything to find the core and force it into Aquarius's key with or without the help of the dragons. But… but…"

"But what?" Laxus asks challenging her. "You're afraid? That's an excuse. With all of us here do you really think anything could happen? Do you think we would let anything happen?" He frowns at her in disgust, "That's insulting. Not only to yourself, but to all of us. To all of Fairy Tail."

Lucy shrinks back not seeing things his way. She ponders his statement for a moment longer afraid to even hope. "Promise me…" she whispers to him finally after a long silence. Without his dragon hearing, he would have missed it, but he raised an eyebrow in question. Lucy swallows hard and starts again, "Promise me you'll stop me. You'll stop me if I take it too far."

Laxus stares at her for a long time. They hadn't spent time with each other very long, but what she was asking of him was immense. He could feel the pressure and tension in the question. He almost wondered if it was her magic behind the question. "You have my word," he finally says.

The tears that slip from her eyes at his words surprise him, but he realizes its just relief from the stress of the decision. To know, she's not in this alone. She wanted to know that someone would be there to keep her in check. He was honestly proud of her to realize her own personality and her own limits. She realized that once she committed to a path there was no shaking her from it even if it meant the worst for everyone else. She needed someone to rely on, someone to keep her accountable. _Silly girl, _Laxus thinks to himself, _since when are Fairy Tail mages ever alone…_

They make their way back into the house only to be met by the entire group. They all smile at them Gajeel having heard the whole thing relaying it to them. "We're behind you Lucy," Levy says to affirm the mood. Everyone else nods in agreement.

Camron claps his hands excited, "Excellent, I'm glad you've decided. There's a few more things we should discuss about the core."

Freed jumps in before he could continue, "Yes, I have a few questions. The first being: Why would the Spirit King and Great Dragon allow such a dangerous thing to exist in this realm?"

Camron frowned, "I've been wondering much the same thing."

Lucy shocked at all of the support stays quiet as she feels her keys start to burn. She grabs the keys and wills it to open. Capricorn and Grandpa Crux come through their gates.

"I believe I have an answer for you, Lady Lucy," Capricorn says with a slight bow.

Crux pops his sleep bubble, "The power is for the chosen ones. The wanted to bless the chosen ones." Everyone looks at him waiting for him to elaborate, but it looked like he fell back asleep.

Capricorn continues, "He wanted the power for his chosen to be able to achieve their dreams. He knew the chosen would wish to make the world a better place, and he wanted to give them the power to do so."

Everyone's silent when Lucy speaks up, "So is it really okay for me to use this power, for… for something so selfish?" She seemed really sad. Her resolve seemed to be ebbing away.

"What do you mean, Lucy-sama?" Freed inquires.

"I mean the last noble soul was a man who united kingdoms with Excalibur! How am I to compare with that?" Lucy asks pained.

Capricorn nods at her understanding his masters pain, "Yes, I know. However, keys can take thousands of years to re-appear." Lucy pales at this statement. "The ability to recreate keys by those most devoted, his own celestial mages, was one of his intentions."

Lucy's disbelief rings true, and unintentionally her hand hovers over Loki's key. "Please. Is it true?"

He nods at her, "We really aren't supposed to talk about it," he gives a pointed glare at the other two spirits, "but the cores are a blessing to the celestial spirits and the dragon warriors, or as we know them the dragon slayers." He sighs realizing the cat is already out of the bag and goes on, "One of the intentions of the cores was to re-create keys if a spirit user was able to summon the King himself in a time of need. It has never been done, but the power is there. When the cores were proposed the Dragon King and Spirit King both had uses agreed upon with certain conditions met, of course. One of those uses was to re-forge a key if broken."

"Another use was granting power to the Dragon warriors to vanquish powerful foes…" Capricron adds to include the other side's power.

Gajeel nods picking up on the implication, "Meaning this Arthur fellow was a dragon slayer." Capricorn nods at him.

"So what you're saying is that this was Stache Face's intention all along?" Lucy asks clinging to hope.

Her spirits all nod at her and a tear of relief slips from her eye. "Although we warn you, Miss Lucy," Capricorn adds. "Other will strive for this power for nefarious reasons. Reasons that do not align with the Kings' original goals."

"And this," Loki goes on to say, "could cause catastrophic consequences." Everyone nods in understanding remembering what they said about Saigonoshinpan.

"Alright," Camron says again getting everyone's attention. "A decision has been made, but we should all sleep. Tomorrow we can strategize. Bedrooms are upstairs. There are more than enough for all of you."

Everyone nods in thanks and makes their way upstairs. The last two to leave to room are Gajeel and Laxus. Gajeel smirks at Laxus, "Didn't know you were so good with words Thunder Clap."

"Shut up Bolts for Brains."


End file.
